Merry Sheils won an essay contest at the age of 10 and has been writing ever since. A financial services executive, she wrote the book Debt-Based Securities and published in Forbes and Chief Executive. A competitive international marathon runner, you'll find her most days logging miles either in Central Park or on a country road in the Hudson Valley, where she is renovating a 200-year old Greek Revival house. Her love of cooking and entertaining keep her busy in both, and between meals, she indulges in reading history and biography.