John Straley was born in Redwood City, California, in 1953. He received a BA in English from the University of Washington. When his wife, Jan, a prominent whale biologist, announced she was taking a job in Sitka, the two headed north and never left. John worked for thirty years as a criminal defense investigator, and many of the characters that fill his books were inspired by his work. Now retired, he writes in his weather-tight office overlooking Old Sitka Rocks. The former Writer Laureate of Alaska, he is the author of ten novels.
John Straley was born in Redwood City, California, in 1953. He received a BA in English from the University of Washington. When his wife, Jan, a prominent whale biologist, announced she was taking a job in Sitka, the two headed north and never left. John worked for thirty years as a criminal defe...