Cheryel Hutton has been beating the odds since before she was born.

Even though her mother was told she wasn't likely to carry her child to term, Cheryel was born right on time. The event occurred in a tiny hospital located above the drug store where the infamous Scopes Trial had been plotted many years before. As if a portent of things to come, her childhood wasn't an easy one. To escape the trials and tribulations of her life, she built herself an elaborate fantasy world. Unlike the real world, in this one any danger or pain could be fought and defeated with the help of imaginary, but supportive friends and family. Some of those imaginary characters still make appearances in her stories.

Her grandmother loved to read, and it was through her that Cheryel was introduced to the wonderful world of books. Cheryel memorized books before she could read, and began writing down her own stories almost as soon as she learned to write. It was in the telling of stories that the real and fantasy worlds came together for her. At first she only wrote stories for herself, but eventually she developed the desire to share her stories with the world. It was a scary proposition, though. Overcoming the fear and insecurity she'd grown up with enough to share her stories with the world would be one of the hardest things she'd ever done.

There were other, more mundane, problems too. Though she continued to write, life got in the way more times than not. Marriage and later divorce, raising two daughters as a single mother, and all the day to day crisis that everyone faces. She worked as a Registered Nurse until health problems forced a career change and a return to college. While there, she wrote essays and stories for the campus newspaper. She also established, edited, and wrote for a newsletter for and about students with disabilities. Reminded of how much she loved to write, she decided to get serious.

Cheryel has had articles, humor pieces, and short stories published in local newspapers, small press, and online magazines, including a story in Southern Comfort: A charitable Anthology, whose profits benefit the American Red Cross. On May 27 of this year, her first novel, Shadows of Evil was released by Samhain Publishing.

Cheryel is the mother of two grown daughters. She holds a green belt in Tae Kwon Do, and is involved in disability awareness. She lives in Chattanooga, TN with her husband and their two dachshunds, Cujo and Sugar.