Heather Annis was born in New York but grew up in South Africa. She returned to the US after two attacks on her life, and the death of a friend in a senseless highway shooting, during the escalating violence of the end of the Apartheid era.

Heather spent more than twenty years in the Thoroughbred racing industry as a Trainer in South Africa and as an Assistant Trainer, and Exercise Rider in the US. She has worked for the likes of Todd Pletcher, D. Wayne Lukas, George Weaver, Mike Maker, Nick Zito, and many others. Heather was privileged to ride great horses like Azeri, Left Bank, Speightstown, and so many more. Her all time favorites are Western Wind and Rip Curl in South Africa whom she considers two of the best horses she ever sat on, and Puget Sound and Swizzle Stick, two absolute characters of moderate talent in the US.

After a family emergency placed her in Forks, WA, she spent four years as a Correctional Officer with the WA State Department of Corrections in the company of some famous felons in maximum security who have to remain nameless. While there, her son joined the navy and it was during his first deployment to Iraq that she realized she wanted to serve. Heather joined the navy and became a physician.

Heather wrote this novel while recovering from surgery after a traumatic knee injury. She is an alumnus of the Medical College of Wisconsin and hopes to use the proceeds of her writing endeavors to pay off her med school debt. She is also a vegan, which means she chooses not to eat animals or use animal products because of the cruelty involved with production. She refused to experiment on live animals during medical school choosing to use computer models instead. She is an animal lover and has been rescuing and rehoming cats for eighteen years. She also has a deaf dog, a blind dog, crippled pony, a blind mouse, and two very old frogs, among other rescues.

Dr. Annis is very concerned about the world hunger and the unsustainable use of resources with the burgeoning world population. See her article on renewable resources here. She is also extremely concerned with the rate of veteran suicide. Her interests include traumatic brain injury, disaster preparedness, and hyperbaric neuro oxygen toxicity, for which she is currently conducting IRB approved research. She supports Swazi aids orphans. In her own community she is involved with feeding the homeless and animal rescue.

The author is also an avid photographer. You can see some of her photos and videos on her Flickr collection.

Be Part of her Community

Be socially active. Volunteer, don't drink bottled water, try to become vegan, and try to do one selfless act every day. You don't have to go across the world to make a difference, you can make a difference just by being aware of where your trash goes. Recycle, and save the oceans. Please, please, please don't support the exploitation of captured dolphins and whales, these are highly social, and incredibly intelligent creatures who live as a family unit for a lifetime.