Hughes’s career in the United States Navy included tours of duty with the USMC, patrol duty aboard the nuclear submarine, USS Francis Scott Key, and a tour of duty in Vietnam. After retiring from the navy in 1976, he obtained certification as a Physician Assistant from the Medical University of S.C., followed by graduate and postgraduate degrees from the University of N.C., Charlotte. Born in Waynesboro, Va., the author now resides in Salisbury, N.C., where he works as a Physician Assistant at the W.G. “Bill” Hefner VAMC. The author’s previous novels include Darcy Miller, Exodus Conspiracy, Mulberry Street, and The Wedjat. His new novel, Craven, answers the question: Where do Vampires go to die?