The TL;DR version: K. M. Herkes is a Chicagoland-based writer of science fiction and fantasy books.

I have been informed that I should maintain a Serious Author Biography containing all the serious facts. You know. The kind of essay that addresses the worldly topics like where I went to college, what companies have employed me, when I got married, how I got this scar on my chin, why I keep writing, who I want to be when I grow up...

Well. Here 'tis. My life, condensed to a few scrolls.

Born at South Suburban Hospital outside Chicago, moved to Orange County California when orange groves were still a common sight there. Spent five years learning about things like Santa Ana winds, and the true meaning of suburban sprawl. Moved back to the Midwest and rusticated in Richmond, Indiana for ten more years, and spent my teen summers in southern Indiana at an Episcopal Church camp called Waycross/Hickory Hill.

Then I ran away to attend college at the University of Notre Dame. (funny story: I didn't know ND was known for football. The draw for me? A phenomenal biology program that allowed students to take electives in humanities. Also, they offered me a scholarship.)

Fast forward five years, and I graduated with a B. S. degree. (What? Yes, a BS degree. Hahahahahaha, never heard that joke before, nope, that never gets old.)

Ahem. Back to The Story.

I launched into The Real World with the biology degree, a concentration in chemistry, a husband, two high school teaching certificates in two states, a lively hobby writing stories & running tabletop role-playing games, and a cat. Not necessarily listed in order of importance.

So of course I went to work in a pet shop. It made perfect sense at the time.

When I decided I couldn't see myself cleaning fish tanks at 70, I conned Borders Books & Music into hiring me and switched to bookselling. I liked that so much I made a career out of training and educating new booksellers & opening up bookstores.

Eighteen years, thirty-plus stores opened, thousands of staff trained, and tens of thousands of book, music, and video recommendations later...Borders closed and I had a LOT of spare time on my hands.

Somewhere between getting Master Gardener certification and taking a new job at the local library, I finished the fourth novel I'd written and decided I should learn everything about independent publishing.

And here I am now, a few years down the line, still learning, still writing, still publishing. with enough books in progress to take me into the next decade.