Joan Frances Turner is the author of Dust, forthcoming from Ace Books on September 7, 2010. Dust is a story of the undead from their own point of view, as they battle time, decay, the loved ones they left behind, encroaching humanity and each other. Or, think Watership Down with zombies instead of rabbits. She is currently working on a sequel, tentatively titled Frail, from the all-important human perspective. Joan was born in Rhode Island and grew up in the Calumet Region of northwest Indiana, which fellow Region Rat Jean Shepherd famously said “clings precariously to the underbody of Chicago like a barnacle clings to the rotting hulk of a tramp steamer.” Like Mr. Shepherd, she aspires someday to have a local community center named after her against her will. A graduate of Brown University and Harvard Law School, she lives near the beach with her family and a garden full of spring onions and tiger lilies, weather permitting. Joan is represented by Michelle Brower of Folio Literary Management. Dust is her first novel. (from author's website)