And of course, she's always happy to take a break from her eclectic mix of hobbies to engage with readers. She does lampwork (the art of blowing glass into beads with a propane torch), has a deep and abiding love of robots, and loves reading 'tabloid history' and digging up strange, obscure, and shocking facts from past. Together they've built a life with just the right amount of quirky. Together they have five kids-Leo, Nynaeve, Oisin, Emma, and Elizabeth -and a herd of cats.

Gwen married a writer, James (J.B.) Whiting. She has a MA in military history, and has researched all kinds of historical subjects. She reads anything she can get her hands on, especially anything by C.S. As an adult, Gwen's still a voracious learner. She boasts the dubious distinction of matriculating from a public school as one of just eight students, where she learned Irish sea chanteys from a man who sang with the Clancy Brothers and caught tadpoles during class. Gwen grew up in small towns across the Pacific Northwest going to slug races and strawberry festivals, all the while scribbling bits and stories on any scrap of paper she could come by. She pens the 'Lost Curiosities' column for Amazing Stories Magazine, and her first book, The Universal Mirror, is now published by Rara Avis, an imprint of PDMI Publishing, LLC.

When she's off the clock, she's usually writing. During her working hours, she digs through old papers and chases artifacts while daydreaming about magicians and spaceships. Gwen Whiting is a museum curator by day, fantasy author by night who feels most at home in the deep rainforest of the Olympic Peninsula.

The Universal Mirror by Gwen Perkins