The pen-name M.C. Behm is an homage to my late grandmother, Marian Co0gan Behm, with whom I lived during my first years teaching high school. Despite being diagnosed with polio at age 5 and being told that she would never marry, never have children, and never amount to much, she defied all those expectations. Marian received a Doctorate from Columbia University, married an Olympic athlete, became the first school psychologist in the state of Delaware, had 4 children and lived to the ripe old age of 89. She always wanted to add “novelist” to her list of accolades, so perhaps having her grandson do it for her is the next best thing.