Michael Smith

Michael Smith lives in Venice, Florida with his wife, Lisa, and several four-legged, furry kids.

He has always been a science fiction fan, be it portrayed in books, TV or movies. He strongly feels Star Trek, The Next Generation was the best Star Trek series and J.J. Abrams' take on Star Trek were the best films. Another strong influence is author Alastair Reynolds.

The "Pilgrimage of the Phoenix, Parakon Series" is his baby. Started eight years ago under a different title, the book morphed and altered in his mind repeatedly before finally settling into a trilogy edition that exists today. The second trilogy, loosely named "The Shellaway Sector," is currently in the works and involves some pretty nasty aliens, worse even than the Parakon in the first trilogy.

He's also an avid reader of action adventure reader, some of his favorite authors being Lee Child, Michael Connelly and the late but great John Macdonald. His book, "Rider: The Imminence," was a book four years in the making and based on his love of the 'lone wolf' character.

An avid scuba diver, he got the idea for his first book, "Meg Hunter", while mowing the yard. Meg Hunter is about his diving experiences hunting for shark teeth off the coast of Venice, the Shark Tooth Capitol of the World.

In "A Geeks Life", his second book, more or less wrote itself. It is the story of Jack McCarthy. Labeled a 'geek' in Middle School, for reasons beyond his understanding, Jack soon tires of years of insults and physical bullying. Soon he quits High School and heads out into the world for a year-long adventure that will eventually take him to Key West, a new life and a new love.