David Sheppard is the author of the non-fiction books Story Alchemy: The Search for the Philosopher's Stone of Storytelling; and Novelsmithing: The Structural Foundation of Plot, Character, and Narration. He has written several novels including The Escape of Bobby Ray Hammer and The Mysteries: A Novel of Ancient Eleusis. Sheppard holds a bachelor's from Arizona State University and a master's from Stanford University, and he has also studied American Literature at the University of Colorado. His poetry has appeared in The Paris Review, and in the Arvon International Poetry Competition Anthology (Ted Hughes and Seamus Heaney, Editors). A veteran of many writing groups and conferences, Sheppard is a past member of the Rocky Mountain Writers Guild, having chaired its Literary Society and participated in its Live Poets Society and Advanced Novel Workshop. He has taught astronomy, novel writing, and Greek mythology at New Mexico State University - Carlsbad. He has also traveled throughout Western Europe, and is an amateur photographer and astronomer.