Marla J. Selvidge, Ph.D. is Professor and Director of the Center for Religious Studies at the University of Central Missouri. She founded the Center in 1990 and has directed its growth, developing scores of courses as well as academic and public programs. Having published numerous academic books and articles, her first novel was marketed in 2013, Demimonde. The Other Story. Hailing from Roseville, Michigan, she has spent most of her career teaching in colleges and universities. Her Ph.D. is from Saint Louis University and the M.A. was awarded at Wheaton Graduate School. She resides with her husband, Dr. Thomas C. Hemling and two beloved canines, Charlie and Tinkerbell, in a suburb of Kansas City, Missouri. Together for over thirty years, they have traveled to at least fifty countries and plan to keep on traveling. For correspondence with Dr. Marla you can email her at selvidge@ucmo.edu