Dean Koontz was born on July 9, 1945 in Everett, Pennsylvania. He received a degree in education from Shippensburg State College in 1967. A former high school English teacher as well as a teacher-counselor with the Appalachian Poverty Program, he began writing as a child to escape an ugly home life caused by his alcoholic father. A prolific writer at a young age, he had sold a dozen novels by the age of 25. Early in his career, he wrote under numerous pen names including David Axton, Brian Coffey, K. R. Dwyer, Leigh Nichols, Richard Paige, and Owen West. He is best known for the books written under his own name, many of which are bestsellers, including Midnight, Cold Fire, The Bad Place,… Hideaway, The Husband, Odd Hours, 77 Shadow Street, Innocence, and The City.
Ed Gorman was born in November 2, 1941 in Iowa. He grew up in Minneapolis, Minnesota and Marion, Iowa before finally settling down in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Gorman has written 11 novels and has 22 works of short fiction. He is the executive editor of Mystery Scene Magazine and writes both mysteries and westerns. His novel "Wolf Moon" was nominated for a Spur Award as Best Paperback Original.