Michael Rios was born in Chicago, Illinois, and has spent most of his life solving and constructing puzzles for fun. He is an IT Systems Engineer with a penchant for Linux and open source software. Mike has worked in the telecommunications and financial industries and has been a government contractor at a national lab. Mike enjoys tabletop/hobby boardgaming, playing racquetball, recreational programming, and spending time with his family.Mike's first published work was at age 12. It was a response to a Games Magazine puzzle based on Burma Shave signs; he mailed five letters on five consecutive days to the magazine, which then printed those letters in scrambled order as a puzzle. Since then he has been published in Games Magazine and Games World of Puzzles, and has authored or co-authored many variety puzzle books and sudoku books. Michael currently lives in Oswego, Illinois, with his wife Theresa, his children Becca and Peter, and Kiki the Quasi-Wonder dog.