Petra Spiess grew up in the Sonoran Desert of Arizona chasing every snake and lizard she could find. Exposure to foundational science fiction and the wonders of the Western United States led her to become both a lifelong science fiction fan and a dryland ecologist, with a B.S. in environmental resources from Arizona State University and an M.S. in rangeland ecology from Colorado State University.
After graduate school, Petra worked as a research scientist in biogeochemistry for the Shortgrass Steppe Long Term Ecological Research Project at CSU. Publishing her first article in Vivarium magazine on the captive care of the desert tortoise, Petra went on to write for every major reptile publication and expanded into many other subjects such as architecture, gardening, science, home design, and urban planning as a freelance writer for national and regional publications.
She is in the process of working on her first science fiction novel, inspired by the countless worlds of other authors that helped her escape her own when she needed it the most.