Through the years, Charlotte Stuart has taught college courses in communication, left a tenured faculty position to go commercial fishing in Alaska, spent a frustrating year as a political speech writer, enjoyed time as a management consultant, and survived several years as a VP of HR and training. She started her writing career with a PhD thesis that had the distinction of being stolen from the University of Washington library. After getting a number of serious academic articles published, she turned to penning humorous stories about boating. Her current passion is for writing lighthearted mysteries that are grounded in real situations and relationships. Charlotte lives on Vashon Island and appreciates its rural atmosphere while being only a 20-minute ferry ride from Seattle. She is the president of the Puget Sound Chapter of Sisters in Crime and a member of the Mystery Writers of America.