Michael Hurley and his wife Susan live near Charleston, South Carolina. Born in Baltimore in 1958, he studied English at the University of Maryland and law at St. Louis University. Michael's first book, Letters from the Woods, was a collection of essays, self-published in 2005, based on wilderness canoeing expeditions with his children. It was selected as a finalist in the Nature category for ForeWord magazine's Book of the Year award. In 2013 Hachette Book Group published his memoir, Once Upon A Gypsy Moon, under their Center Street imprint. The Prodigal, his first novel, won the Chanticleer Grand Prize. With the $1,000 cash award, Michael formed The Joanne L. Hurley Book Prize for aspiring high school novelists in the Charleston area, in memory of his mother (www.mchurley.com/JLHPrize). The Prodigal was shortlisted for several other literary awards and was well received by critics. Michael's second novel, The Vineyard, is due to be released on November 25, 2014. Kirkus Reviews calls it "addictive, escapist reading" and "deliriously satisfying." Michael keeps up with his readers and life in general at www.mchurley.com and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/mchurleybooks.