Lauren Benton Angulo

After over 20 years of working (what seemed like 24X7) in Silicon Valley start-ups I took a year off, went back to college to get my masters in clinical psychology, with a detour to live and study in Florence, Italy. Returning to the US (with a newfound love of most all things American) I started my own executive recruiting and consulting firm (with ten amazing employees/partners) while going to graduate school. I also chose to get pregnant, with my first (and only) child, at 39 years old. After many surf trips to Bali, Java, Fiji, Costa Rica, Mexico and Hawaii my husband and I decided to leave our careers, friends and family in the Bay Area of California and move to Hanalei, Hawaii on the north shore of Kauai. A dozen years later, it's a decision I've never regretted. Although intending to "retire" in Hanalei, I've created and ran the island's first Business Brokerage, bought and ran an international Adoption Agency, partnered and ran a high-end vacation rental and services company and was hired to revamp a mainstream vacation rental business. I've helped launch or turn-around numerous businesses on Kauai (using decades of business and executive coaching experience from my start-up days). I've recently launched a world-wide surfing video website at www.surferseen.com.

Throughout my life I've been an avid reader and writer. Having written content for websites, marketing material, and blogs, Caught Inside is my first novel. Thankfully, I had brilliant and generous help from a small group of friends and acquaintances who edited and contributed to the book's evolution and completion. If you would like to contact me, I'm at lauren@surferseen.com.