Born in Germany, Uta Christensen spent years in Ireland, New Zealand and Australia before settling in California. Holding a bachelor of arts degree in English and German literature, she taught English at a community college and was an administrative analyst at the University of California. Her first book, her father’s memoir of survivel in Russian POW camps, was published in Germany in 2005. She is also the author of three novels published in the US: Bed of Roses, Bed of Thorns, Tough as Fine Silk, Escape from Beijing, and Caught: Surviving the Turbulent River of Life, published in December 2014. The author lives half the year in California and the other half in Australia.