Alicia Estopiñá was born in Valderrobres (Teruel) and now lives in Sitges (Barcelona). She graduated in Art History from the Universidad de Barcelona and has been a teacher and undertaken other professional activities in the region of the Tereul Maestrat, the setting for her novels. She has published such short stories as Fiese usted (Look), Ganadería alternative (Alternative Ranching), Via Muerta (Death Road), La senda de las luciérnagas (The Firefly Path). The trilogy composed of Fantaso (Phantasos), Merlot and Dogs and Knives are humorous action trillers set in the region of Matarraña, Teruel. She has also written four short comic novels: Cenizas calientes (Hot Ashes), Apartamento en la Costa Brava (An Apartment of the Costa Brava), Una operación arriesgada (A Dangerous Operation) and Fantasmas en la escalera (Ghosts on the Staircase). Her novel Bajo el mantel (Under the Tablecloth) won the I Octavio Serret Rural Literature Prize, and is a humorous gastronomic thriller.