Anne Collins Smith, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of Philosophy and Classical Studies at Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas. Her favorite class in graduate school was Douglass Parker's course on parageography (the geography of imaginary worlds), and she has taught philosophy courses about cyberspace, martial arts, and science fiction. She holds the rank of shodan (first degree black belt) in ninjutsu. She and her husband Owen have collaborated on two novels for Lerner and look forward to writing more in the future. They have been married for 27 years and have an adult son, Emrys.