Amanda Cockrell, writing as Damion Hunter, is the author of seven previous Roman novels: the four-volume series The Centurions, concluding with The Border Wolves, and The Legions of the Mist and its sequel The Wall at the Edge of the World. Shadow of the Eagle is the first in The Borderlands, a new Roman series. She grew up in Ojai, California, and developed a fascination with the Romans when a college friend gave her Rosemary Sutcliff's books to read. After a checkered career as a newspaper feature writer and a copywriter for a rock radio station, she taught literature and creative writing for many years at Hollins University in Roanoke, Virginia, where she now lives. www.amandacockrell.com