E. C. (Gene) Ayres has a long and eclectic history as a writer, filmmaker, columnist and film critic in New York, Florida, and Hollywood, writing for Harper’s Magazine, Running Times, Worldwatch Magazine, PBS, various newspapers, commercial television and animation studios, Universal Studios and Warner Brothers. Following upon the early success of his mysteries, Ayres spent much of the next decade researching a forthcoming book about Shakespeare, then accepted a position for three years living and working in China as a "Foreign Expert," teaching English at a major state university in Harbin. His book on these adventures, Inside the New China, is now available wherever books are sold. His award winning Tony Lowell Mystery series is now back in publication after a decade with his fifth novel of this series, the new environmental thriller Day of the Red Tide. He lives and works in Seattle.