Stephen (Steve) De Marino was born in 1970 at Lemoore Naval Air Station, with a cranium that astounded his nurses. Since then he has tried to put it to good use, though often as a battering ram rather than as a device for the creation of art or intellectual pursuit. He currently resides in Northern California, near Eureka, and is working on a paranormal space opera. He is also working on several short stories through the Crushing Hearts Black Butterfly Group. He is the proud father of digital artist Sarah Lanning, and the very creative, budding author Vito De Marino. Steve has been a fan of many of the science fiction greats for most of his reading career, but has recently found a new love of trashy paranormal series, as well as reading many books on football, history and politics in between. Asimov, Dick, Saberhagen, Dietz, Friedman and Cherryh are among his favorites, and their words provide daily inspiration.