Johnny Shaw was born and raised on the Calexico/Mexicali border, the setting for his award-winning Jimmy Veeder Fiasco series, which includes the novels DOVE SEASON and PLASTER CITY. He is also the author of the Anthony Award-winning adventure novel, Big Maria.His shorter work has appeared in Thuglit, Crime Factory, Shotgun Honey, Plots with Guns, and numerous anthologies. He is the creator and editor of the fiction magazine, BLOOD & TACOS, which recently added a phone app, a Podcast, and a book imprint to its empire.Johnny received his MFA in Screenwriting from UCLA and over the course of his writing career has seen his screenplays optioned, sold, and produced. For the last dozen years, Johnny has taught writing. He has taught at Santa Barbara City College, UC Santa Barbara, LitReactor, and numerous writing conferences.Johnny lives in Portland, Oregon with his wife, artist Roxanne Patruznick.