​Armed with an English degree from Ripon College and an MBA from Chicago’s Stuart School of Business, Blake has thrived for over two decades in the shadowed back-office realms of the financial industry. After gradate school and a seven year run as Chief Compliance Officer for a Chicago-based hedge fund, Blake was a founding member of two high-tech startup firms that specialized in the surveillance of communication and trade order records. He can most easily be found at literary conventions, hosting writing workshops, and award-winning Beer and Books parties. He currently solves financial crimes in Chicago during the day and gives life to wild fantasies during the blackest hours of night.