Larry Witham is the author of eighteen books and an award winning journalist. His nonfiction works focused on history, religion, and science, and he has in recent years returned to writing novels, lately featuring artworld themes (his college degree is in painting). The Silk Road Affair is his fourth novel, and second in a series featuring art investigator Julian Peale. The third Peale novel (Nov. 2023) is Incident at Devil's Finger. Witham lives with his wife in suburban Maryland.