Jeff Somers was born in Jersey City, New Jersey. As a child he imagined he would be a brain surgeon, until a spirit-crushing experience convinced him that in order to be a brain surgeon he would have to actually attend school, work hard, and master basic mathematics. After a severe head trauma, he chose instead to write stories and learn the high art of cocktail mixing, and spent the next twenty years in a pleasant haze of fiction and booze.In 1995 Jeff began publishing his own magazine, The Inner Swine (www.innerswine.com). His published novels include the Avery Cates series, "We Are not Good People", "Chum", and "The Ruiner."He's also had stories published in many magazines, most of which regret the connection. His story "Ringing the Changes" was chosen for "Best American Mystery Stories 2006" and his story "sift, almost invisible, through" appeared in "Crimes by Moonlight" edited by Charlaine Harris in 2010.He currently lives in Hoboken, NJ, with his lovely wife Danette and their plump, imperious cats. In-between all this and writing too, Jeff plays chess and staves off despair with cocktails.