A native of Houston, Donald W. Hill, MD, FACP, graduated from Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas, in 1978. After completing his medical school training at the University of Texas Medical School at Houston in 1982, Dr. Hill did his postgraduate training in internal medicine, hematology, and oncology at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque in 1987. At the time he cowrote this novel, Dr. Hill had completed over thirty years of medical practice that included working in multispecialty clinics, solo practice, and everything in between, including academia and clinical research. A fellow of the American College of Physicians, Dr. Hill is a published scholar, but Vampiro is only his second attempt at serial fiction after completing his groundbreaking masterpiece, The DNR Trilogy. Although he's now back on the mainland, Dr. Hill was living and working in Hawaii when he cowrote this novel. Dr. Hill has openly professed that he does not personally enjoy the genre of science fiction and, to be more specific, the subgenre of vampirism. During the time that this work of fiction was cowritten, the author often stated to anybody willing to listen that the possible existence of bloodthirsty ghouls was quite a disturbing concept. If there's such a thing as a vampiro that's indeed roaming some remote corner in the desert of the great American Southwest, Dr. Hill truly doesn't want to be privy to such a horrifying reality. Nonetheless, he accepted the challenge from Thomas Cavaretta to be a coauthor (as well as a coconspirator) to collaborate on this project. It was Dr. Hill's specific task to conjure up a plausible medical and scientific explanation for human vampirism from the perspective of a practicing hematologist/oncologist. If Dr. Hill was indeed successful in this endeavor, the reader will be the final arbiter to opine if this lofty goal was achieved. In the meantime, turn on the night light and make sure all the doors and windows are locked shut.