Ellen King Rice is a former wildlife biologist with a passion for epigenetics and fungi. In her younger years she served as a wildlife conservation officer, a big game manager, an endangered species biologist and as a lobbyist on environmental issues. After a spinal cord injury halted her field work, Ellen studied dominance and territorial behaviors while parenting toddlers and adolescents. One year she entered a "Hank the Cowdog" story contest and won a twenty-two volume set of Hank adventures. This exposure trained her brain in the fine art of being a misunderstood genius. Currently she is working on finding her car keys.