Michael Shayne grew up in southern West Virginia, served in the Air Force, graduated from West Virginia University (BSEE) and Wheeling University (MBA) before settling in Cincinnati, Ohio with his wife, daughter, and a dog. Goal Number One-check! What's missing from the tale perhaps begins with his 13th great-grandfather, Sir Thomas Wyatt, the official poet of Henry VIII. Or maybe his grandfather who was with the local newspaper. Or being named after Brett Halliday's sleuth. Either way, those Norman and Scotch-Irish genes have compelled him to spin yarns since he was old enough to hunt and peck on Smith Corona. A ravenous reader, he's usually engulfed in two novels, something non-fiction, iced with an audiobook at the same time he's writing. Outside of writing, he found himself working as an electrical engineer, project manager, product developer and business development executive in the electric utility and telecommunications industries.