Ellen Malphrus lives and writes beside the May River in her native South Carolina Lowcountry and beneath the Madison Mountains in western Montana. She studied under esteemed poet and author of Deliverance, James Dickey, who was her mentor and Graduate Director for the MFA she earned at the University of South Carolina. Malphrus’ fiction, poetry, and essays have appeared in a variety of publications including Southern Literary Journal, Review of Contemporary Fiction, William & Mary Review, Haight Ashbury Review, Georgia Poetry Review, the anthology Essence of Beaufort and the Lowcountry, and the anthology Literature: Reading and Writing with Critical Strategies. Since earning her Ph.D. in Twentieth Century American Literature with an emphasis in Southern Literature, Malphrus has taught literature and creative writing at USC Beaufort. She is most at home in nature, and her concern for wild places and creatures, particularly when it comes to coastal conservation, is evident in the fabric of her writing. A proud and unrepentant Luddite, Malphrus merrily eschews electricity and running water at her Montana cabin and counts herself fortunate that her husband is of the same mindset. Their grown daughter and three rescue dogs, however, are quite content with creature comforts and remain behind in South Carolina. The Foreword to her debut novel is written by best-selling author of The Prince of Tides, Pat Conroy.