Upon graduating from Armed Forces Journalism School in 1967, Mike Shepherd was sent to South Vietnam as a radio reporter for 7th Air Force Information. He f lew all over the country from the DMZ to the Mekong Delta interviewing airmen and soldiers about the signifi cance of air power. He was awarded a certifi cate of meritorious achievement by Time/Life publications for his reporting during the siege of Khe Sanh in 1968. After coming home he attended Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, a hotbed for the antiwar movement. He then became employed by the State of Illinois in Springfi eld as public information offi cer and speech writer as his interest in radio broadcasting shifted to creative writing and he has published several books, along with articles for various newspapers and magazines. His fi rst book is entitled Like Another Lifetime in Another World, an historical fi ction about the Vietnam War, which has led to the publication of this particular book that's a combination of fi ction and nonfi ction short stories, poems and prose. Shepherd presently lives in the country with his beloved wife Jane and their four cats.