Katherine Blackwood began writing in the early 90s while still in high school.  Short stories quickly grew into longer and longer stories, with hiatuses where jobs, travel or school took over her time.  Over the years she has worked in more jobs than she can count, from fast food to manufacturing to translation and editing to teaching.  She has a Bachelors in Japanese, a Masters in Cultural Anthropology and an obsession with learning languages (seven and counting).  Her love of language and culture has inspired numerous stories, though her love of penguins has yet to provide such inspiration.  A lover of all things geeky, she particularly enjoys fan conventions, video games, fantasy and science fiction literature, and mystery and crime TV shows.  She lives in Western New York with her husband, dog, cats, rats and guinea pigs.