About J.J. Eliyas:

<P>One of the things I hate the most is writing about myself, not because of any amount of modesty, rather I am afraid of what it would reveal. <BR><BR>I work in the mental health field and teach sociology at Penn State. I have worked as an Assistant to a Juvenile Court Judge, as a Private Investigator, was Supervisor of a Sexual Abuse Investigative Unit and I am currently a Director for a large behavioral health provider in Western Pennsylvania. <BR><BR>Onto writing, why do I do it? H. Beam Piper and Poul Anderson, Herbert and Tolkien, Moorcock and Burroughs all influenced me. I would escape into their pages on stormy days and be John Carter fighting for the Princess of Mars, or stay up late with a flashlight and follow Corum or Elric through the ruins of some ancient city. All this fomented some creative explosion within me, and in turn I am lucky enough to put it down on a page or scrawl it in paint on a canvas. <BR><BR>In addition I am Editor of Art and the Sword, the annual Journal of the Japanese Sword Society of the United States. My appreciation for the Japanese Sword as Art began in college when I found The Craft of the Japanese Sword by Leon &amp; Hiroko Kapp, and Yoshindo Yoshihara in the campus bookstore. <BR><BR>I began writing in college. While I prefer the fantasy genre, I also have interests in Science Fiction and Suspense. I live outside of Pittsburgh with my wife Arlene, my daughter Aubrielle, two dogs, two cats, and a pond full of many, many Koi. <BR></P>