L. M. Ironside is passionate about history. She began devouring adult historical novels right off her mother's bookshelf at age eight and never looked back. In high school, her history teacher assigned her Hatshepsut as the subject of a report. The report turned into a meticulously crafted scale paper model of Hatshepsut's mortuary temple, and Ironside's fate was sealed: she was a confirmed Egypt nut from then on. The Sekhmet Bed, which chronicles the early life of Hatshepsut's mother, was her first novel. When publishers passed on it, she joined the growing ranks of indie authors and released it herself. Reader reaction to The Sekhmet Bed surprised even the author, and she committed to a full series of novels depicting the reign of Egypt's first female Pharaoh. The series continued with The Crook and Flail and Sovereign of Stars, and will conclude with The Bull of Min in the winter of 2014. When she is not writing, L. M. can be found with a pack on her back, long-distance hiking through the incomparable landscape of the place she calls home, Washington State. Her best ideas for new stories come to her while she is on the trail, so she tries to make time for hiking whenever possible, and always keeps a notebook and a pen in her pack so she is prepared when inspiration strikes. She lives near Seattle with her fiance (also crazy about history), her two ill-behaved cats, and a thriving assembly of carnivorous plants. L. M. (you can call her Libbie) loves to hear from her readers. You can contact her via her web site: libbiehawker.com