Hi there, my name is Dave Hugelschaffer, author of the Porter Cassel mystery series.

The series is about wildfire investigator, Porter Cassel, who looks to find the origin, cause, and person responsible for starting fires in the forest. I became interested in writing this unique sort of mystery after a decade of fighting forest fires in northern Alberta, back when I was a Forest Ranger. As part of a search and rescue crew, I once assisted the RCMP in processing a crime scene in the Alberta foothills. This was a bombing of logging equipment and we searched the logging slash of the cut blocks for bits of the exploded machines and remnants of the bombs.
As a I worked my part of the grid pattern I marveled that no one had been injured or killed, and began to wonder what might have followed if someone had returned to work a few minutes earlier.  This was the inspiration for Day into Night, the first book in the series.

I grew up on a small farm, worked for several years in the bush as a trapper, then went to college for forest technology.  My first permanent job was a posting in Fort Chipewyan in far northeastern Alberta, accessible only by plane or boat. I had great adventures fighting fires, travelling long distances by plane, helicopter, boat, and snowmobile. After a few more postings I left the Forest Service and worked for the forest industry as a planner and land use coordinator. After a decade of this I returned to work with the government.

An addition to writing, when I have the time I enjoy blacksmithing; forging Damascus blades, canoeing, fishing, travelling, hiking, and of course reading.  Lots and lots of reading.

If you are a fan of the Porter Cassel mystery series, hang in there, the next book is on its way...