Lynne M. Smelser holds a Ph.D. in English from Michigan State University. Her writing has been published in Newsweek Magazine, Education Digest, and The Journal of Literacy and Technology. Aside from these national venues, her work has appeared in many local publications throughout her 17 years of work as a freelance writer, during which time she has won several writing awards.
Dr. Smelser’s research for this novel has included more than 7 years of work studying flu vaccines, pandemics and epidemics. This work has included examining the Center for Disease Control’s efforts to track the avian flu and the World Health Organization’s efforts to put emergency procedures in place globally. Her idea to write about this subject originated from stories she was told by my grandmother regarding living through a flu epidemic in which she lost her 6-month-old son, her 3-year-old son, and her husband.
For more information about Dr. Lynne M. Smelser and her work, go to lynnemsmelser.com.