Robert Rodi (b.1956) was born in Chicago, a town seething with literary and musical energy, and he has spent his life immersed in their currents. His first novels, which quickly gained him cult status, were deftly drawn satires of the city's gay scene ("Fag Hag," "Closet Case," "Drag Queen"). While continuing to write fiction (most recently, "Baby") he's branched out into nonfiction, the better to share his enthusiasm for the world of canine agility (in "Dogged Pursuit") and all things Italian, specifically the great Tuscan horse race, the Palio ("Seven Seasons In Siena"). He's also written comic books for both Vertigo and Marvel, and maintained a self-described "guerilla lit-crit" blog about Jane Austen called "Bitch In a Bonnet: Reclaiming Jane Austen from the Stiffs, the Snobs, the Simps and the Saps" that has now been collected in two volumes. He's also an actor, spoken-word performer, jazz singer, and the front man for the fusion rock band 7th Kind (whose CD "Sea Monster" is available on Amazon). For more information, visit his website, www.robertrodi.com