James Steimle, a.k.a. Jim Blackstone, a.k.a the Dread Pirate Roberts, enjoys history, psychology, foreign languages, STAR WARS, and boring things like "education." As a result, he has taught for over twenty years from Japan to California, and a few other places. He has written seven scholarly books and numerous articles worth forgetting--unless you enjoy dusty tweed jackets with patches and also very old libraries (which he does!). He has earned a Bachelor's in History, studied nine languages, obtained a teaching credential in multiple states, run two law firms, done the work for a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing, loved life as a librarian, earned a Master's of Education, become an Associate Member of the American Psychological Association, and then done the following fun things:Ever-racing from true boredom, James Steimle has written books for children (like THE AUTUMN LAND and AN ELEMENTARY HISTORY OF THE WORLD), a young-adult romance (FEW ARE CHOSEN), and novels for the rest of us (like THE KUKULKAN MANUSCRIPT and the sci-fi thriller INTERFERENCE, which he wrote under the pen name Jim Blackstone). His short stories and novellas (like THE ROOM THAT WASN'T THERE, "Pearl of Great Price", and "The Happy Dog and the Lonely Cat") have twice won awards, played in nearly every genre (including the sometimes-snobby, sometimes fun-loving Literary field, where his tale "Writer Incognito" was nominated for the illustrious Pushcart Prize), and appeared in award-winning magazines from America, to Canada, to Great Britain. He has thereby been recognized by the British Fantasy Society, LOCUS MAGAZINE's Index to Science Fiction, and the Internet Science Fiction Data Base.Readers are encouraged to keep in touch with James at the author's official website, Steimle.us.