Mike Ricksecker is the author of Deadly Heirs, a Chase Michael DeBarlo mystery novel, and Ghosts of Maryland. The son of a tool and die maker, Mike spent ten years growing up in western Massachusetts and began writing detective fiction as far back as the second grade. He carried his passion of writing with him back to Ohio, the state of his birth, where he created a myriad of short stories, novellas, and song lyrics. The character, Chase Michael DeBarlo, was also seen in print for the first time during this period. After a 6-year stint in the U.S. Air Force that bounced him between Texas, Mississippi, Alaska, and Maryland, Mike resumed his detective fiction by beginning to create an interactive computer game. During the project, he realized his true passion and began the task of writing a full-length novel. The game concept is still in development at this time, and the precursors can be experienced through the mini-mystery games available via the Mike Ricksecker Mystery newsletter. In 2004, Deadly Heirs, the first installment of the Chase Michael DeBarlo mystery series was published. The not-yet-published sequel has been completed with a third in the works. Although Mike and his family moved to Oklahoma in 2009, Ghosts of Maryland was published by Schiffer Publishing in 2010. He subsequently inked a deal to write a similar paranormal tome about ghosts and legends in Oklahoma, and the work is currently in production. Mike has been married to his wife, Robin, for sixteen years and they have four children.