About the Author - Bernard Dukas

I was born in Ontario, Canada and served for many years in the Canadian Army, including a stint in the Governor General's Horse Guards (Cavalry Squadron) and Princess of Wales' Own Regiment. I've traveled a good part of the world and published books on Hawaii's military past. All this experience imbues a great deal of my writing. As a young boy, I was raised on a diet of Lost in Space, Star Trek and The Time Tunnel (not to mention the Apollo missions). Ursula K. Le Guin, Gene Roddenberry, H. Rider Haggard, Jules Verne and H.G. Wells are among my favorite authors, combining in some inexplicable way to influence my writing.

While the science that defines me as an author of speculative fiction is undoubtedly present in my work, the adventure always plays out first and foremost, buoyed along (I hope) by many richly crafted and memorable characters. I believe that science fiction should, at the very least, transport the reader (to another world, more often than not), and cause you (the reader) to reflect on our own planet and social condition.

I'm a "cat person," nature conservationist, hiker and equestrian. I maintain strong ties with Canada, Hawai'i and the San Francisco Bay Area.

Book I in The Spanish Gatekeeper series – Empire of the Ulfair – (a Compton Crook Award Finalist) is my debut science fiction fantasy adventure novel.