J. T. BLEU is the pen name and creation of R.G. Banker, Jr.

He was born in Wisconsin, where he rewrote Cinderella (made it more magical) at the age of 10, for a school play. He apparently matured in Chicago, winning accolades as a high school actor. But seeing himself as "THE GREAT TRAVELER," he then set out for Switzerland--pen in hand--to discover the secret of the Pyramids, or was it the Alps?

Maybe he took a wrong turn, because he vaguely recalls having studied frei kunst or some such thing at a European uni, before a real wildness set in. Picking up his guitar and improvising his lyrics as well as his life, he crossed Europe into South Africa, experiencing the full brunt of apartheid and Africa's bracing beauty, until an Asian fever set in.

After a number of years of freelancing and writing copy for Asian travel fairs, he found himself in Japan, living the life of a Samurai, writing haiku, reacquainting himself with baseball, and wondering how his beautiful grown children were doing back in the States.

At this point, he completed his first novel MY ARCH EMILY. It may be as wild as his lifestyle, with too many layers and some embarrassing omissions, but he hopes it makes some sense and delivers a satisfying ride to those who manage to hold on to it.