About the Author

A native of Portland, Maine, Lester Gorn has at various times worked as a longshoreman, a cab driver, a news editor, a ghostwriter, a teacher and a soldier. A combat veteran of World War II, he advanced from squad leader to staff officer assigned to the Defense Department. He taught at University of California Extension, Monterey Peninsula College and the San Francisco Black Writers' Workshop and is the author of The Anglo Saxons. In the olden days, he put in a stint as book editor and daily columnist of the San Francisco Examiner. The father of four sons, Lester Gorn now lives in Pacific Grove, California, with his beloved wife, Winnie. James N. Frey is one of America's leading creative writing teachers. For over fifteen years, he conducted the popular Open Workshop at the Squaw Valley Community of Writers and has run workshops and lectured at dozens of other schools and conferences, including the Oregon Writers Colony, the Santa Barbara Writers Conference, the Heartland Writers, the University of California Extension novel writing workshop, the California Writers Club conference, and many others, both in America and in Europe. He is the author of nine novels and five widely read creative writing guides; How to Write a Damn Good Novel, How to Write a Damn Good Novel II: Advanced Techniques, The Key: Writing Damn Good Fiction Using the Power of Myth, How to Write a Damn Good Mystery, and How to Write a Damn Good Thriller. He lives on a sailboat with his wife, Liza. James N. Frey is NOT the author of A MILLION LITTLE PIECES.