Michael Fridgen loves theme parks, Dolly Parton, baking, Christmas, and playing the piano. His guidebook, Dollywood and Beyond, attained the top spot on Amazon’s list of bestselling books about theme parks, as did his World Traveler’s Guide to Disney. A former elementary school teacher, Fridgen began writing full-time after his first novel, Ruth3:5, was named a finalist for the Minnesota Book Award. In 2014 Fridgen’s meticulously researched work about gay people in the Holocaust, The Iron Words, was the top recommendation on the Goodreads list of books about World War Two. He lives in Minneapolis where he enjoys making elaborate gingerbread houses and planning his next theme park visit.