After spending his first five years in postwar Germany, Erich had the fortune to grow up an Iowa farm boy. He left tractors and livestock behind for a bachelor of science degree, a Vietnam combat infantry badge and purple heart, followed by a PhD in immunology and postdoctoral research stints. Following a move to the scenic and lovely-in-the-summer but tryingly-gray-in-the-winter Pacific Northwest he found his earlier experiences had left him ill-suited to the constrictions and indoor confinement of academic research. So, he hung up his white lab coat to pursue wider interests. Now on the distant side of youth, time not spent interacting with his family and pondering where the decades went is spent hiking the American West, camping, traveling, and playing bocce. Of course, writing necessarily fits in there somewhere as well. Erich lives with his wife in Seattle. More about his books can be found on his website at ericheipert.com.