Rhonda Smiley lives in Glendale, California with her partner, James Hereth, and their spoiled terrier-mix, Jojo. After earning her BFA in Film Production from Concordia University in her native Montreal, she returned to L.A. to pursue screenwriting. She started out as an assistant to filmmaker (and Academy Award winner) Zoran Perisic, while also freelancing as a story analyst for several production companies. She went on to co-found Hyper Image, providing animation, special effects, and post production for movies and series, including “Starship Troopers: The Roughneck Chronicles,” “Liberty’s Kids,” “Strawberry Shortcake,” and the Emmy-nominated “Our Friend, Martin.” During that time, her writing took off and she wrote and story-edited for many series, including “Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation,” “Tarzan: The Epic Adventures,” “Born Free,” “Rescue Heroes,” and the Rick Springfield show, “High Tide.” She also wrote and produced the sci-fi animated movie, “Race,” which aired on the Showtime Network. In May 2017, she published her first novel, “Asper,” for young adults who enjoy the darker side of fantasy. It received the B.R.A.G. Medallion with a 5-star rating. Currently, she’s working on a graphic novel “Blowback” with her oft-writing partner, James Hereth, due out in 2018.