Four and Twenty Blackbirds was Cherie Priest's first novel, followed by Wings to the Kingdom, and Not Flesh Nor Feathers, completing her trilogy of Southern Gothic ghost stories featuring heroine Eden Moore. Priest is also the author of Fathom, Dreadnought and Boneshaker, which was nominated for a Nebula and Hugo Award, won the Locus Award for best science-fiction novel, and was named Steampunk Book of the Year by steampunk.com. Born in Tampa, Florida, Priest earned her master's in rhetoric at the University of Tennessee. She lives in Seattle, Washington, with her husband, Aric, and a fat black cat named Spain.