The Griffin Mage (The Griffin Mage Trilogy)
Rachel Neumeier started writing fiction to relax when she  was a graduate student and needed a hobby unrelated to her research.   Prior to selling her first fantasy novel, she had published only a few  articles in venues such asThe American Journal of Botany.   However, finding that her interests did not lie in research, Rachel left  academia and began to let her hobbies take over her life instead.  She  now raises and shows dogs, gardens, cooks, and occasionally finds time  to read.  She works part time for a tutoring program, though she tutors  far more students in Math and Chemistry than in English Composition.