M. J. Ritchie grew up on a street in Philadelphia that no longer exists, listening to tales of banshees and ghosts from her Irish mother. A lover of words, and all things weird, she’s been writing since the age of nine. As a volunteer tutor with various literacy programs, she’s helped adults and children learn the joy of reading. She has degrees in business from Drexel University and Johns Hopkins University with experience in everything from accounting to sales. Her business writing focuses on management and employee development. As a faculty associate at The Johns Hopkins University Carey School of Business, she has helped graduate students learn the intricacies of business processes and organizational change. In her consulting practice, she works with organizations to improve performance. Her fiction writing indulges her desire to play god on a small scale. She hopes to make people aware of the importance of consequences whether they’re implementing a system or selling their souls. She’s married and lives in Maryland. Visit her at www.mjritchie.com.