Shane Gericke earned the right to sing the blues, having survived a knife to his throat, a lightning strike, the death of his wife, and a pulmonary embolism the size of a Buick. But the quality of his voice suggested to him he was better off sticking to words and images.Accordingly, he became the bestselling author of Blown Away (Debut Mystery of the Year, RT Book Reviews), Torn Apart (finalist, Thriller Award), and other crime novels, as well as winning international honors (Monochrome Awards and the National Wildlife Federation) for his landscape photography.Before jumping into those fields, Gericke (pronounced YER-key) spent 25 years as a newspaper editor and writer, most prominently at the Chicago Sun-Times. While there he chaired the Chicago Newspaper Guild, and later in book world, chaired the ThrillerFest literary conference in Manhattan. He is a founding member of International Thriller Writers and a longtime member of Mystery Writers of America. He wanted to be Napoleon Solo, but the closest he ever got was Eagle Scout.The lifelong Chicago resident recently turned in his snowblower for the hot desert winds of Arizona. Read more about him at ShaneGericke.com.You can browse and buy his photographs at FineArtAmerica.