Sheryl J. Bize-Boutte was born in Berkeley and raised in Oakland, California. Her first writing experiences began while she was a student at the prestigious Mills College in Oakland as a columnist for the College's newspaper, and the youth editor for a local magazine called "Jump Bad." After college she embarked on a 30- year management career in the U.S. Government where she tried to satisfy her need to write by becoming the "go to" person for writing and communication. When that didn't totally scratch the writing itch, she turned to helping her math-oriented daughter with all of her school writing assignments. During this time her poem "That House" was published by the Poetry Guild's "Gallery of Artistry." Mercifully, retirement provided the freedom to engage that creative writing gene again, resulting in the publication of her short story “Dead Chickens and Miss Anne” by Persimmon Tree Magazine, and contributions to Harlequin anthologies "The Dog With The Old Soul" (her story, "The Green Collar", received a positive mention from Publisher's Weekly) and "A Kiss Under The Mistletoe"; and, the award winning "The Walrus- A Mills College Literary Journal." In 2014, she published her first book, "A Dollar Five-Stories From A Baby Boomer's Ongoing Journey" with Oakland and Berkeley often serving as the backdrop for her vivid, touching and often hilarious true tales. This work has been described as “ rich in vivid imagery”, “incredible” and “touching.” Published in 2016, her second book, “All That and More’s Wedding,” a collection of fictional mystery/crime short stories, is being praised as “imaginative with colorful and likeable characters that draw you in to each story and leave you wanting more.” A multidisciplinary writer, Sheryl has also contributed commentary and articles on leadership and management through her blog at www.sjbb-talkinginclass.blogspot.com as well as various magazines and periodicals.