Mikhail Lerma was raised in the small town of Holdrege, Nebraska. In the third grade he wrote his first short story, in which the main character was a monkey. Not taking his career as a writer too seriously after that, he finished his high school years by joining the army when he was only 17. He spent 10 years in the army, starting as a truck driver, and eventually becoming a combat medic. While deployed to Iraq in 2007 he spent missions in a turret as gunner. In his free time he began writing a story having nothing to do with monkeys. Only time will tell if this was a good career move. With encouragement from his friends and family he decided to start taking his writing seriously. Storytelling has become a passion of his, with a strong interest in horror and science fiction. He lives in Iowa with his wife and three daughters. He does not have a pet, but if anyone would like to donate a male dog to level out the hormones in his house, that would be much appreciated.