I was the kid in school who always had a science fiction or thriller paperback hidden behind my textbook while class was in session. I was not exactly a gifted student but I did read all the classics (my classics) from Edgar Rice Burroughs to Jack London to Ray Bradbury to Raymond Chandler before I finished high school. I wrote my first story in third grade. I still remember the first paragraph--I wanted to make sure that my vast readership (me) got the idea that this was a science fiction story. "Johnny Mars walked down Mars Street on Mars one day." I don't know about you but I think that should be studied in every writing class ever taught.:) About my stories and books: "Ed Gorman has the same infallible readability as writers like Lawrence Block, Max Allan Collins, Donald E. Westlake, Ed McBain, and John D. MacDonald." Jon Breen, Ellery QueenKirkus called Ed Gorman "One of the most original crime writers around." Gorman's novels The Poker Club and The Haunted have both been filmed. Author of more than thirty novels and ten collections of short stories, The Oxford Book of Short Stories noted that his work "provides fresh ideas, characters and approaches." The Rocky Mountain News called him "The modern master of the lean and mean thriller." Gorman's thrillers include Blood Moon and The Marilyn Tapes both available as part of the Top Suspense Group (TSG). His novel Cage of Night, also available on TSG, is one of Gorman's personal favorites. The sites Gravetapping and Good Reads noted "It is truly a classic of the macabre--part mystery, part suspense, and entirely chilling and haunting." Gorman's westerns have also been lauded by Publisher's Weekly. "Written in a lean hard-boiled style." Rocky Mountain News said "Simply one of the best Western writers of our time." Booklist raved "Intelligent characaters uniuely motivated make for knock-out read." Gorman is now busy on a suspense novel he hopes to finish this year. Gorman can be reached at New Improved Gorman http://www.newimprovedgorman.com/ You can also follow him on Twitter.