Jeff Somers began writing by court order as an attempt to steer his creative impulses away from engineering genetic grotesqueries. He has published nine novels and dozens of short stories; his short story “Ringing the Changes” was selected for inclusion in Best American Mystery Stories 2006. He’s a full-time freelance writer and a Contributing Editor at Writer’s Digest, which published his book on the craft of writing Writing Without Rules in 2018. He lives in Hoboken with his wife, The Duchess, and their cats. He considers pants to always be optional.