Kimberly Derting is the author of The Body Finder , Desires of the Dead , The Last Echo , and Dead Silence , which are as much coming-of-age romances as they are paranormal thrillers, as well as the dystopic fantasies The Pledge and The Essence . She lives in the Pacific Northwest, where the gloomy weather is ideal for writing anything dark and creepy. Her three beautiful (and often mouthy) children serve as an endless source of inspiration and frequently find things they say buried in the pages of their mother's books.