Mary Ellen JohnsonMary Ellen Johnson's passion for Medieval England ignited her writing career. She is the author of the six-book Knights of England series, detailing the tumultuous fourteenth century-from the disastrous reign of Edward II to 1403's Battle of Shrewsbuy, which sets the stage for the Wars of the Roses. All intermingled with the lives and loves of her fictional characters. Mary Ellen is also the author of three time-travel romances-Before I Wake (thirteenth-century England) and Eternal Beloved (fourteenth-century Ireland, and kind of, sort of a ghost story). Her latest is THE GOLDEN PROMISE OF CRIPPLE CREEK: Love During the Boom Times, which takes place, not in medieval England, but in turn-of-the-century Cripple Creek, once of the world's richest gold camps and the site of the 1903-1904 Colorado Labor Wars. Coming from a blue-collar family, Mary Ellen was always interested in union history and the towns of Cripple Creek and Victor--a forty-minute drive from her home--enjoy history aplenty. Bullet holes in the façade of a Western Federation of Miners union hall, abandoned headframes, underground tunnels crisscrossing city streets, museums detailing a time when the District was home to hardscrabble miners who became overnight millionaires and others who worked ore thousands of feet below for $3 a day. The United States has the most violent labor history of the industrialized nations, and the Colorado Labor Wars, which ranged from Cripple Creek to Telluride and beyond, deserves its place among those that are better known. When not writing, Mary Ellen enjoys visiting her children and grandchildren, accompanied by her faithful German Shepherd, Karma, who is particularly talented at begging for treats. Read More Read Less