Well, as you can guess from the domain name, I'm Michael Barnette. I was raised in the messed up land down south known to most as Miami, Florida. Interesting place, Miami, you can get milk at a drive through convenience store, eat cuisine from just about any country in the world-- Ethiopian, Nigerian, Cuban, Haitian, Jamaican, Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Thai, it's like the United Nations of food-- and be shot at all in the same day. (And no, this isn't a joke, it did happen to a friend and me.)

Then you've got movie theaters, concerts, great places like South Beach where you can watch the wildlife, comes in all shapes and sizes, from Punk rocker--yeah they're still around-- to guys with dreads and ladies that have five o'clock shadow to the bikini clad girls that rollerblade here and there. The Art Deco district is a fun spot on Friday night, and Coconut Grove's downtown area is the place to go on Saturday night. Lots of things to do and see.

Miami's a great place in some respects. Lots of things to do at any time of the day or night, and loads of excitement. House to house searches, drive by shootings-- really, they aren't after the tourists for the most part, it's just a local thing.

I'm living in a much smaller town right now, fewer murders in a decade than were typical in a week in Miami.

So, if I now live in Missouri, why am I writing about Miami and the places around it? That's easy. A writing instructor once told me, "Write what you know." And I've taken that to heart, since I know Miami it figures in my work with a Spectrum Award nominated story and a soon to be published novel set in a futuristic version of Miami.

As for who I am, I'm just your average guy with a penchant for writing work that's a bit edgy and offbeat. I hope you enjoy reading about my heroes and heroines as much as I like writing them.