On his way to becoming a writer, B K Mayo worked as a fire alarm salesman, a college bookstore manager, a steelworker, an IRS auditor, a park caretaker, a school bus driver, a library aide, a special education teacher, and a high school detention room supervisor. His short fiction has appeared in literary journals and anthologies, including "The Wordstock 10." His first novel, Tamara's Child, inspired by his experiences working with at-risk youth, won the 2011 Eric Hoffer Award in the Young Adult book category and was named a Finalist in the Popular Fiction category of the 2010 National Indie Excellence Book Awards. Although he writes mostly fiction, his newspaper column "Now That I Think About It," which appeared in Roseburg, Oregon's The News-Review, was widely praised. Mayo and his wife live in an area of southwestern Oregon known as the Hundred Valleys of the Umpqua. Learn more about the author at https://www.bkmayo.com.