About the Author

T. Elizabeth Renich is the author of the Shadowcreek Chronicles, a series of four historically based novels set against the backdrop of the American Civil War. Ms. Renich's research repeatedly brought her to the East Coast while digging for accurate information. Those research trips became a contributing factor in her decision to make a move from her native California to Charlotte, North Carolina following a five-season stint (1992-1997) as Secretary to the Head Coach of the San Diego Chargers. In 2004, Ms. Renich moved to Northern Virginia, where she joined the Washington Redskins as the Administrative Assistant for Defense and Special Teams. At present, Ms. Renich happily finds herself living near Leesburg, VA, less than 20 miles from where her stories were originally set at Chantilly.

In addition to her interest in the Civil War and football, some of Ms. Renich's favorite things include reading, writing, photography, NASCAR races, and scrapbooking. Her decision to take up horseback riding was a direct result of her studies of the Southern Cavalry. A six-day/84-mile trail ride through Connemara (County Galway, Ireland) in the summer of 2003 gave her a keen appreciation for what cavalrymen might have felt like after living in their saddles for hours on end. Extensive research has taken her to battlefields, graveyards, museums, library archives, and assorted historical sites in dozens of states from one side of this country to the other. While she writes, Ms. Renich often listens to movie soundtracks such as "Braveheart", "Last of the Mohicans", and "Gettysburg"; Civil War period music; or traditional Scottish and Irish tunes.

The greatest influences on her writing career came from her Senior Composition teacher in high school along with the head football coach, who was also her U.S. History teacher. She inherited her love of books and reading from her father. She's been known to frequent bookstores, libraries, and Amazon.com; her mother retired from the Orange County Public Library system and several relatives possess ties to writing and the publishing industry.