Rich Wilburn has had a lifelong fascination with stories and storytelling in all media, particularly in the realms of sci-fi, fantasy, and tales of the sea. His yarn-spinning idols include Glen Cook, Patrick O'Brian, J.R.R. Tolkien, Quentin Tarantino, Isaac Asimov, Steven King, Glen Larson, and - yes - even George Lucas. Rich (barely) graduated from the University of Illinois with a BS in Civil Engineering and is currently the principal civil engineer for a small suburb of St. Louis. He lives in southwestern Illinois with his long-suffering wife, has successfully raised two fully functional adult offspring, and is the proud owner of the smartest Shih-Tzu in the known universe (or so he says....).His debut urban fantasy novel Cherry Dark is NOW AVAILABLE from Castle Bridge Media and all major book retail outlets