Scholar-turned-writer Ivelaw Lloyd Griffith is a retired political scientist who has served as President of Fort Valley State University, Vice Chancellor of the University of Guyana, Provost of universities in Virginia and New York, and Dean at Florida International University. He is the recipient of the William J. Perry Award for Excellence in Security and Defense Education from the Perry Center for Hemispheric Defense Studies at National Defense University. A widely published expert on Caribbean affairs with nine scholarly books to this credit, he has testified before the U.S. Congress and has served as a consultant to several international organizations. A member of the Vestry (governing board) of the Historic St. George’s Episcopal Church in Long Island and the Freeport/Merrick Rotary Club, he and Francille, his partner of four decades, have two adult children and one granddaughter. Sylvie’s Love and Loss is his first novel.