Genevieve Valentine was born in 1981 into a military family, with her childhood spent in California, Texas, Illinois, and (mostly) Virginia. She attended George Mason University, earning a degree in English, and has worked in an occupational center for police officers and firefighters, behind the counter in a restaurant, with a wedding planner, and as an executive assistant. Her first story was ‘‘29 Union Leaders Can’t Be Wrong” (2007), and