Fritz Carmichael is a shy fellow. He is rumored to live in a cabin in the woods. Some say they have seen him in the Sierra Nevadas of Northern California. But no one really knows for sure.Fritz's alter ego (and real name) is Brent Tharp. Brent was born in a forest and raised by wolves. The mad woodsiness skills he developed during his upbringing came in handy later in life when he had to travel five miles on foot through snow, sleet, hail, hurricanes, typhoons, and tornadoes to reach his country day school atop a 14,000-foot-high mountain while evading trains, missiles, torpedoes, arrows, hungry bears, and trolls. Though he has traveled a tough and merciless road to get to this point, he believes it has made him eminently qualified to entertain and teach English skills to the children of the world (the English-speaking ones, anyway). He does not possess a degree in English, a teaching credential, or an MFA, nor does he particularly desire any of those. He is, however, a professional editor, writer, and publisher. That's right: people pay him to fix their writing, to write stuff, and to get their words into print. As a consequence, he's seen nearly every good and bad thing that can happen with writing, and more important, he explains what's wrong in lay terms, how to fix it, and how to ensure that it doesn't happen again (for the most part). He has a BA in economics from Occidental College, an MBA from the UCLA Anderson Graduate School of Management, and a copyediting certification from UC San Diego. While at Occidental College, he received the Bennett Schwartz Outstanding Senior Thesis Award. He has edited numerous scientific and technical books and textbooks for several of the world's largest publishers, as well as journal submissions by independent authors. In addition to scientific & technical works, he edits genre fiction, business books, and children's books at all levels from developmental editing to proofreading. The first book he ever edited under his own publishing imprint received a national award (an IPPY). He has taught college entrance exam classes for the Princeton Review and Junior Achievement classes for grades 3–12, and he has been a mentor for junior and senior high school students.