Denise Spain wrote her first speculative fiction story, The Big Sink, to highlight a friend’s struggle with PTSD. Born in north-central Idaho and raised in Walla Walla, Washington, she now resides in Connell, Washington with her husband and two small children. All places have shaped and defined how she creates her characters and worlds, including her nine seasons as a wildland firefighter for the US Forest Service.

Currently, she teaches students whose first language is not English and encourages them to follow their dreams. Denise graduated from Central Washington University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Spanish, a Bachelor’s Degree in Law and Justice, and received her Master’s Degree in Education from Washington State University.