Michelle M. Welch wrote her first book at the age of 9 - a handwritten stack of paper bound with string and shelved in her elementary school library. A lifelong fan of fantasy, science fiction, and magical realism, she had her first short story published in a small press anthology in 1995. Her fantasy trilogy The Five Countries was published by Bantam Spectra, starting with Confidence Game in 2003. The Gbahn and Archipelago novels are a departure into independent publishing.When not writing, she works as a librarian and dabbles in music and other arts. She was creator and editor of the podcast anthology Theme and Variations, featuring short speculative fiction with music as a theme. She lives in the Phoenix, Arizona area with two cats, one husband, and too many musical instruments.