Lynne Sears Williams

I was born on a street that had only ten houses; four kids went to law school. Clearly, the water was contaminated.

In my 2nd year of law school I saw the school 'playboy' carrying a large fantasy novel. I made certain my wedding ring flashed protective bolts of lightning, then spoke with him. How did he find time for 'free reading?' "If I didn't read something that wasn't law, I'd lose my mind." Color me amazed, he had a point which didn't include hitting on me! When I got home, I picked up the first book I saw (Tolkien) read for a while, then fell asleep.

I was promptly transported into a dream where there was a great-looking guy and a beautiful woman, with cold wind blowing in from an ocean. As the days went by, each time I closed my eyes, it was like watching a movie as the characters became real. Evan was a king, the woman's name was Morleyna and I *knew* a grudge separated the two kingdoms. (Later, as I researched, I discovered the latter fact was true.)

I gave up trying to understand The Tort Contract Matrix during an honors lecture. On the page where I was supposed to write Brilliant Notes, I decided to draw a map of the country I'd seen. A mountain range *here*, a different kingdom *there* and when I got home, I opened an encyclopedia. I'd drawn a map of Wales. A laptop followed appeared and a story was born.

I worked as a freelance journalist for the Canadian and American Medical Association's Journals. Canadian law professor J. Chris Levy and I co-authored a legal article published by The Alberta Law Review. I finished my law degree at the University of Madison, Wisconsin and interned at Districts 4's Madison Court of Appeal for my final semester. Then I began to specialize; Wales in the 9th Century had a *different* code of laws. I began to write THE COMRADES a story about love, war and mysticism.

My thanks to everyone who helped a journalist become an author, with particular gratitude to a playboy who started it all.