John Byrne Barry is a writer, designer, actor, bike tour leader, and crossing guard. He wrote his first book-length project - a 140-page treatise on dinosaurs - in fifth grade at Kilmer School in Chicago. One page for each dinosaur. Lots of white space. He's been writing ever since - magazine and newspaper articles, advice columns, political comedy and murder mystery plays. He's even written for seed catalogs. His first novel - Bones in the Wash: Politics is Tough. Family is Tougher, set during the 2008 presidential campaign in New Mexico, won the 2015 Best Book Award from the Bay Area Independent Publishers Association (BAIPA).