Lucy Monty writes from a state in the mid-west, one she’s happy to have people fly over. She wishes the highway commission would just do away with exit ramps.

Jesse McCluskey lives in the middle of the Sonoran Desert where saguaros stand guard and coyotes sing.

Jesse and Lucy met on a university campus having enrolled in the same histology class. They immediately recognized each other as long-lost sisters—but from different families. Lucy was a junior and a member of the Honors Program. Jesse was a graduate student with substantial work experience. They were competitive students and top dogs in their class every time there was a test with a prize. Of course the prize was nominal, but they didn’t care. They closed ranks and one of them always captured the ruler, notebook, or whatever sundry item was on offer for the highest grade.

When they complained to the professor that there was no lab guide for the class, he suggested they write one. So, they did. After that, a writing binge ensued and many years of work has gone into their first novel, The Omega Consensus.