Sheila Martin was born in 1946 and grew up in the Coney Island/Brighton Beach section of Brooklyn. Even before her first finger painting she knew she wanted to be a painter. In 1971 she graduated from New York University, where she earned a B.A. in fine art. From 1971 to 1979 she worked in graphic design in New York City. In 1979 she moved to Ithaca, New York with her husband Jim Blythe. Here she started a successful graphic design business which specialized in not-for-profit organizations. In 1992, Sheila and Jim moved to Memphis, TN, where Jim landed a job as a medieval history professor. Here she phased out her graphic design business and started painting full time. Shortly thereafter she developed an intense interest in writing. She has since written and illustrated this novel, written a second novel, and is working on a volume of short stories.