John Schwartz was born in Amsterdam, Holland, and is a nephew of Maarten Maartens. John followed a career in international trade and economic development in Holland, Switzerland and lastly with the World Bank in the United States, and as a senior international consultant, traveling worldwide. He now resides as a writer in Virginia, USA, and is married with two children and two grandchildren, and blogs at http: //johnschwartzauthor.com/blog.