Cindy Kelly Benabderrahman lives in Amsterdam, Ohio in a mid-nineteenth century American Pyramidal coal company house with her husband, Oualid. She is a mixed media artist and writer, and her work has been represented by Salt Kettle Gallery in Salineville, Ohio and by Carroll County Arts in Carrollton, Ohio. She holds a Master of Science in Reading Education from Franciscan University of Steubenville and a Bachelor of Arts in English with The Writing Minor from Kent State University. She was the editor-in-chief at Amsterdam Press from 2006-2012, where she edited the quarterly lit journal,Plain Spoke, and the Gobpile Chapbook Series. She enjoys being an aunt and researching her Melungeon ancestry.