Dr. Celia Bonaventura’s creative talents are evident in the combination of fiction and fantasy of the Beyond Words series. Before embarking on this project, she worked at the Duke University Marine Laboratory in Beaufort, NC, where from 1972 to 2011 she carried out biochemical research and taught classes about the respiratory adaptations of marine organisms. Her academic career has combined basic and applied research and project-administration that involved leadership of an NIH-funded Marine and Freshwater Biomedical Center, generation of over 200 peer-reviewed publications, and authorship of seven U.S. patents. Some of her patents have been licensed and led to commercialized products. She is a breast cancer survivor who encourages others to overcome life's obstacles., She owns Cru, a coffeeshop/wine store/bar in Beaufort, NC, that provides an inclusive and welcoming atmosphere to the community. . She likes to travel , write, and paint, and spends part of each year in Costa Rica.