Christina Waters is a fifth generation Californian with a PhD in Philosophy and 20 years teaching experience at UCSanta Cruz. A Bay Area journalist specializing in art, food, wine, and literature, she is a music and theater reviewer for Metro Newspapers. Author of the memoir Inside the Flame, Waters has written a trio of murder mysteries set in the worlds of opera, genetic engineering, and academia. She lives, writes, and paints in Santa Cruz, California. christinawaters.com