Michelle Black is an American author of historical fiction and historical mystery novels. She is also an attorney, former bookstore owner, and publisher.

Early life and education

Black was born in Topeka, Kansas. She studied Fine Arts at the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. T ...

, graduating ''cum laude'' with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology from

Washburn University Washburn University (WU) is a public university in Topeka, Kansas, United States. It offers undergraduate and graduate programs, as well as professional programs in law and business. Washburn has 550 faculty members, who teach more than 6,100 ...

. She received a Juris Doctor degree from the

Washburn University School of Law The Washburn University School of Law is a public law school located on the main campus of Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas. Washburn Law was founded in 1903. The school is accredited by the American Bar Association and has been a member of ...

with honors in 1980.

Career

Black practiced law in both the public and private sectors until 1993, when she moved to

Frisco, Colorado Frisco is a home rule municipality located in Summit County, Colorado, United States. The town population was 2,913 at the 2020 United States Census. Frisco is a part of the Breckenridge, CO Micropolitan Statistical Area. It is a popular town amo ...

and began writing full-time. There she owned an independent bookstore called Wolf Moon Books and formed a small press which published (in a nonprofit partnership with a linguist on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation) a Cheyenne language course called “Let’s Talk Cheyenne”. Her first two novels (''Never Come Down'' and ''Lightning in a Drought Year'') were published electronically by one of the first digital publishers, Hard Shell Word Factory. Her three Eden Murdoch novels (''An Uncommon Enemy'', ''Solomon Spring'', and ''The Second Glass of Absinthe'') were published by

Macmillan Publishers Macmillan Publishers (occasionally known as the Macmillan Group; formally Macmillan Publishers Ltd and Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC) is a British publishing company traditionally considered to be one of the 'Big Five' English language publ ...

under the Tor-Forge imprint, with the second and third books in the series carrying the subtitle “Mysteries of the Victorian West.” Her sixth novel, ''Séance in Sepia'', featured real-life feminist

Victoria Woodhull Victoria Claflin Woodhull, later Victoria Woodhull Martin (September 23, 1838 – June 9, 1927), was an American leader of the women's suffrage movement who ran for President of the United States in the 1872 election. While many historians ...

as its protagonist and highlights Black's ongoing interest in the world of the Victorian occult. Black's grandmother was raised in the Spiritualist Church, and spiritualists have figured prominently in her most recent titles. Black's writing has been recognized by the Colorado Center for the Book, the Oklahoma Center for the Book, the

WILLA Literary Award WILLA Literary Award honors outstanding literature featuring women's stories, set in the Western United States, published each year. Women Writing the West (WWW), a non-profit association of writers and other professionals writing and promoting the ...

, and the Colorado Independent Publishers Association. Black is an active participant in the Steampunk movement, frequently appearing at Steampunk conventions like Steamcon and writing articles on the topic. "Full Steam Ahead. The Steampunk Movement Goes West." True West Magazine, March, 2011 (Volume 58, Issue 3), page 48.

Bibliography

Novels

* ''Never Come Down'' (1996) * ''Lightning in a Drought Year'' (1999) * ''An Uncommon Enemy'' (2001) USA, Forge Books, * ''Solomon Spring'' (2002) USA Forge Books, * ''The Second Glass of Absinthe'' (2003) USA, Forge Books, * ''Séance in Sepia'' (2011) USA, Five Star (Gale/Cengage)

Short fiction

* ''The Hundred Day Men'', appearing in ''Westward: A Fictional History of the American West'' (Dale Walker editor)(2003), Forge Books,

References

External links

Official websiteVictorian West BlogMacmillan page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Black, Michelle Living people 21st-century American novelists American women novelists American mystery writers Women mystery writers Washburn University alumni Writers from Topeka, Kansas 21st-century American women writers Year of birth missing (living people)