Nicholas P. Matz was born in Lubbock, Texas and raised in various parts of southern New Jersey. He currently resides in eastern New Mexico. Aside from writing, his various artistic interests include music, painting, pen and ink and photography. He hopes that with this book he can illustrate a vision of the world from the perspective of some of the people who have not been completely accepted by it, dedicating this work to those who have been silenced or pushed aside, and to those who have found some level of comfort inside that void. THE BLACK SHEEP and THE MITSUKI MASK tells a story of the unwanted, and of those who will come to want them. It is the story of The boy, an outsider in an unbroken chain of outsiders, who has fallen into an empty well and lost his memory. Alone in the dark, The boy finds company with an invisible voice. This mysterious new companion will lead him through the process of recovering his memories. Through those memories he will learn who he is and hopefully how he has come to be in this place.