Sarah Jane Smith grew up on Magician Lake in rural southwestern Michigan, along with a Welsh pony, horses, cats, dogs, gerbils, turtles, peacocks, chickens, and some goats who ran away. She attended Interlochen Arts Academy, where she studied English, the oboe and the English horn. Sarah Jane Smith received her Ph.D. in English with Creative Dissertation from The University of Illinois, Chicago. She currently lives in Florida and is at work on a second collection of short stories and a novel.