Richard Barre was born in Los Angeles and raised in California. He is the author of The Innocents (winner of the Shamus Award for best first P.I. novel), Bearing Secrets, The Ghosts of Morning, Blackheart Highway, Burning Moon, Echo Bay, The Star, Bethany, and Wind on the River. Prior to writing crime fiction and short stories, he was creative director and copywriter at his own advertising agency and wrote and edited travel publications. In addition to his writing career, he is currently owner, art director, photographer, copywriter, and chief bottle-washer of an eBay business (route343) offering historically accurate 1:18 scale model race cars, a passion. He lives in Santa Barbara with his wife, Susan, and innumerable space aliens posing as dogs.