CHERYL ARKO is a science fiction author, senior data scientist, and seasoned dog trainer. TOUCH OF THE ELEGRIAN is her debut novel and was a Killer Nashville Claymore Award Finalist for best Science Fiction/Fantasy. During her long career in IT and medical data analysis, she has co-authored three peer-reviewed papers published in medical journals. Her life-long passion for training and competing with her beloved Airedale Terriers has led to national rankings, and she has contributed as a guest columnist for the American Kennel Club Gazette. She has loved reading science fiction ever since she could connect letters into words, devouring everything from Andre Norton to Edgar Rice Burroughs (he had an Airedale!) to E.E. "Doc" Smith, as well as many more authors through the years who have shared their thought-provoking ideas of imagined places and alternate realities. She writes stories that take her to the stars, imagining who we might find out there, inviting readers to come along for the ride to visit new worlds and their people. To explore what makes us different—and what makes us the same. And to discover the inherent good that exists in the universe to balance against darkness. Cheryl and her four-footed friends enjoy life in a tiny house nestled within thirty acres of serene Minnesota pine trees. Her days are filled with laughter, inspiration, and the occasional mischief brought on by her faithful canine crew.