Shannon King grew up on a farm in southern Michigan. She has always loved being in nature and in addition to writing, she does landscape painting and enjoys travelling. After graduating from the University of Michigan, she taught literature at Northern Michigan University, Central Michigan University and the Loft Literary Center. She is the winner of three Avery Hopwood Awards and a Minnesota State Arts Board grant for fiction. She is a writer, former college professor and editor who has published short stories, biography and poems along with numerous articles on art and architecture. Elements in her fiction are linked to her interest in other cultures, archeology, travel and relationships. She currently lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Caldera is her first novel. Questions for book groups are available upon request. She can be contacted at [email protected].