Michael Swartz writes about protagonists that have a unique medical or scientific diagnosis. The idea for writing his debut novel, Split, came after meeting a chimera patient. After spending way too much time in college (one bachelor's degree, two master's degrees, and a PhD), Michael has worked as a physician's assistant specializing in adult, transplant, and pediatric cardiac surgery while running a research lab that investigates the outcomes of children born with congenital heart disease. He has co-authored seventy scientific manuscripts published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology and the New England Journal of Medicine. He plays guitar and piano when he can, coaches baseball and softball, and lives with his wife, two kids, and Bernese mountain dog.