Neal Patterson worked for many years as a writer in the financial industry before turning to free-lance writing. Neal's work has appeared in the anthologies The Dead Walk! and Hey Kids, Comics!, and on the Web site Channel 37: Serial Science Fiction from the Distant Reaches of UHF. His new book, The Codename: Carla Casebook, is a collection of short stories featuring a counter-terrorism agent who takes on cases of an extraordinary nature.With his wife, Kathy Wielech Patterson, he writes the award-winning food blog, Minxeats. Their writing has appeared in Discover Baltimore, Towson Life, Sniffapalooza Magazine, and other publications. They are also the authors of Food Lovers' Guide to Baltimore and Baltimore Chef's Table, both published by Globe Pequot Press.Neal lives in Baltimore, Maryland.