Courtney Schafer

Courtney Schafer was born in Georgia, raised in Virginia, and spent her childhood dreaming of adventures in the jagged mountains and sweeping deserts of her favorite fantasy novels. She escaped the east coast by attending Caltech for college, where in addition to obtaining a B.S. in electrical engineering, she learned how to rock climb, backpack, ski, scuba dive, and stack her massive book collection so it wouldn't crush anyone in an earthquake. She then moved to the climber's paradise of Boulder, Colorado, and somehow managed to get a masters in EE from C.U. Boulder in between racking up ski days and peak climbs.

After completing her masters, she got a job with a local aerospace company, married an Australian scientist who shared her love for speculative fiction and wilderness adventures, and took up figure skating since her other hobbies weren't challenging enough. She's had to slow down a little on the adrenaline sports since the birth of her son, but only until he's old enough to join in.