Ten years in the mossy Northwest left such an imprint on Gregory Spencer that he placed his characters from The Welkening in the semi-fictional town of Skinner, Oregon. Since arriving in Santa Barbara in 1987, he has taught Communication Studies at Westmont College. He and his wife of twenty-eight years, Janet, have raised three daughters: Emily, Hannah, and Laura. The only other male at home is the cat, Willie. When not mentoring students, Greg can be found tending his roses or playing tennis. He has published A Heart for Truth: Taking Your Faith to College and numerous articles on what it means to live in a media-saturated culture. Recently, he has published several poems. The Welkening is his first work of fiction.