John Mugglebee is a racial and ethnic jigsaw puzzle. His heritage, in chronological order, includes Native American, African American, Scots-Irish, Chinese and Russian Jew. Born in Salem, Massachusetts, at age eleven he was uprooted to Pasadena, California in the midst of the 60's race riots. Sports, particularly football, was his means of inclusion. John graduated from Dartmouth College and taught high school English and coached in Pasadena before earning a master's in creative writing from Colorado State University. He currently lives in Aix-en-Provence, France, where he heads a language laboratory for French Civil Aviation and where he is an avid road biker. His previous novel, Renaissance in Provence, was published in 2004.