Gerald M. Ford was born on July 9, 1945, in Everett, Massachusetts. He received his B.A. from Hawthorne College, a M.A. in English from Adelphi University, and a second M.A., this one in political science, from the University of Washington. Ford taught English and communications at colleges in Oregon and Washington for twenty years. He often thought he would like to write a detective story himself. In 1995, his first mystery, Who in Hell Is Wanda Fuca?, was published, and since then he has also written Cast in Stone (1996), The Bum's Rush (1997), Last Ditch, and Slow Burn. Ford's mysteries, which are set in Seattle, feature Leo Waterman, a private detective. Ford has been nominated for the… Anthony Award, the Shaumus Award, and the Lefty Dilys Award. Ford feels that his work has been most influenced by mystery writers John D. McDonald, Ross McDonald, Robert B. Parker, and Rex Stout, and has included in various books small tributes to each of these authors.