<p>Dean is from Bridgeport, West Virginia and lives in Cleveland, Ohio with his wife, two children and giant, fluffy Sheepadoodle. A graphic design major, Dean had a respectable, twenty-plus year career in advertising when, in the fall of 2012, while losing a battle with depression, he returned to his childhood love of art and started painting again. Since then, Dean has painted close to one hundred large-format paintings, has had his work displayed in numerous galleries, and has had his painting of beloved Cleveland street musician, Maurice Reedus Jr, used for the 2014 film documentary, <em>The Saxman</em>. If you’d like to see Dean’s artwork, you can do so at instagram.com/deanskinner.</p>
<p>In November of 2018, Dean went to 20Books Vegas, a yearly gathering of some of the publishing industry’s most notable self-published authors. Here, Dean was so moved and inspired by this talented group of people that three months later, he finished writing his first draft of <em>Broken.</em> </p>
