Sometime around 1987 Susan sat in the driver’s seat of an Alfa Romeo Spider and her life-long love of engines was born. She recently bought a motorcycle, so she can be cool like her teenage son and embarrass him at the local meets. A lover of all things Genesis, when not writing about oil, she can be found digging in her garden, live- streaming volcanic eruptions in Hawaii, or adding to her impressive collection of radioactive vintage glass.  Lately, she’s been irrationally concerned about the slightly elevated iron reading from her WRX’s engine. She’s supposed to be renovating her 100-year-old historic home, but she doesn’t want to, as scraping old paint is the absolute worst. She and her husband share that disastrous money pit with two teenagers and way too many cats.

Lucy is part of a magnificent herd of children who all inherited the family tendency to be jacks of all trades (even if masters of none).

This might mean she’s had less of a career and more of a Series of Interesting Events, but it translates pretty well into fulfilling her designated role in almost every group as The Mom Friend. Formally, she’s been trained in English and history; informally, she knows a little bit about everything from construction (and destruction) to lutherie. When she’s not writing oil reports, Lucy can usually be found reading or writing a new book, turning curtains into costumes, chasing chickens, or eating bread.

Born and raised in Fort Wayne, Katie would love to tell you that she used to live in San Francisco. She is working on not mentioning it so often. She’s been a professional gift wrapper, a college instructor, a digital marketing copywriter, and a project manager, and now she is happy to be able to say she’s a full-time writer, aka her dream job. Katie has been a writer since she knew what words were, and stories and storytelling have always had her attention. Luckily, the other things she likes—cats, goat cheese, and fancy lattes—are good companions to settling down with a story, whether that’s a soap opera or a novel. Other than her two cats, Rupert and Ned, the other love of Katie’s life is her 1870s gablefront Craftsman/bungalow-style house in West Central. 

Before joining Blackstone Ethan worked with animals in Australia, but relocated to marry his true love. He’s survived encounters with man-eating sharks, deadly spiders, venomous snakes, something called a “stinging tree,” and a malevolent seagull who stole all his chips. Since moving, he enjoys great barbeque, great lakes, and free coffee refills.

Augustia holds a Bachelor of Arts in theatre performance and writing. She spent a couple years after graduation hopping around between food service jobs and the occasional seasonal position before finally landing the coveted Industry Job here at Blackstone.

When she’s not writing your report comments, you may find her jamming out to Hozier and mid-10s punk rock, reading a book, (cleverly avoiding) writing her own book, or on stage in a local production. She enjoys hiking, stargazing, baking, long walks in Eagle Marsh, and Lake Michigan beach days. Above all, she loves spending quiet nights at home (or any time anywhere else) with her husband and their four cats.

Sarah is a former library clerk who was excommunicated from the Allen County Public Library for spending too many of her working hours sniffing old copies of the Beckett Anthologies. A native of Warsaw, IN, she’s fluent in Pig Latin and Klingon, and she spends her spare time rolling in the dirt with her unathletic Jack Russell Terrier, Simon, who has his own line of designer handbags for other dogs. She dual majored in English and Business Administration and holds her school’s record for most Chicken McNuggets eaten in a single sitting (574). Her favorite game is Chutes and Ladders.