I was born and raised in Glasgow, Scotland, which, I believe, explains my inherent cheekiness and my sophisticated sarcasm gene. In the late seventies, my family immigrated to America where I've made a career out of my passions: reading, writing, and teaching.

I'm Professor of English and Director of Creative Studies in Writing at Alverno College in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where, among other things, I conduct a seminar on the art of the mystery. I've been teaching at Alverno for over twenty years (I began teaching when I was, em, 14).

My crime fiction column runs every third Sunday in The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. My reviews also run in The Minneapolis Star Tribune, and in other newspapers via the McClatchy News Service. Oh, and once a month I chat about books on WTMJ4's The Morning Blend (Milwaukee’s NBC affiliate).

I've written two books, Anything Goes and I Am What I Am in collaboration with my brother, John Barrowman. In February 2012, Buster Books will publish our children's fantasy novel, Hollow Earth.

This summer, the anthology, Chicks Dig Time Lords, for which I wrote a chapter, "Time is Relative," won the Hugo Award for best in non-fiction sci-fi. Yay Chicks!

Alverno Professor Wins Hugo

Most Recent Reviews

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Ready Player One Review

5th Anniversary of The Morning Blend: segment on my bucket books

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: September column

The Morning Blend: Book Club Picks