SKYE SMITH

I’ve always believed that to truly understand where we are going, we have to be willing to look at
where we’ve been, even the parts of our history that are uncomfortable. 

My journey to becoming a novelist wasn't a straight line. I graduated with honors from St. John’s
University in Collegeville, MN, with a degree in History. Recounting it now, though, I could be
describing someone else’s life. Eventually, I found my way into the world of mechanical engineering
and computer-aided design, or CAD. Using that advanced software, I helped to design/transition
complex industrial-level machines from "virtual visualization," to the physical world.

That virtual reality to physical world continuum has influenced my writing. I want readers to have a
clear picture of what’s happening as they read my books. Instead of pumps and motors, I began to
visualize the streetscapes of 1930s St. Louis. I wanted to see the city as it was: the divide of the
social classes, the rhythm of the jazz age, and the "invisible" lives of the people who actually kept the
city running. 

Just as a CAD-generated portfolio lays the foundation for a real-world machine, so a mystery-thriller
of a thousand plot elements must coalesce into a comprehensible, nerve-wracking, engaging
entertainment. Ten years moderating a MeetUp writers group helped me come to this realization.
It took over four years of deep research to bring Long Lost Midwife to life. I wanted to tell a story that
wasn't just a mystery, but a mirror, reflecting the racial tensions and the rigid domestic boundaries of
1934. My goal is to give you a "virtual reality" experience on the page, where every setting is
historically grounded and every character feels like someone you might have passed on a street
corner nearly a century ago.

Although I live in Minneapolis, MN, I’m proud to call St. Louis, MO my home, in a virtual sense. Virtual
may not equal the physical, but it can be just as potent.