McCurry, Bill: - Bill McCurry was born in Fort Worth, Texas and now lives thirty-five miles away in Dallas, Texas. That short distance produces more divergence than one might think. If both cities were apples, Dallas would be sliced and resting on a bed of arugula and kale with some nice vinaigrette, while Fort Worth would be sitting in a bin at the Farmer's Market behind a sign that reads, These are good old apples. If you're looking for kale, Dallas is over there. In childhood Bill came to love fiction late, preferring history and science books instead. In his mid-teens he discovered science fiction and fantasy novels, particularly Roger Zelazny, Ursula Le Guin, Robert Heinlein, J.R.R. Tolkien, Robert E. Howard, Harry Harrison, Marion Zimmer Bradley, Richard Brautigan, Robert Saberhagen, Piers Anthony, and Gordon R. Dickson. Michael Moorcock was also a favorite. Bill inhaled all five Elric books in one day while home with a bad cold. More recently he has particularly enjoyed the work of Christopher Moore, Orson Scott Card, Neil Gaiman, John Steakley, and Sir Terry Pratchett. Death's Collector is Bill's first published novel, to be followed by Wee Piggies of Radiant Might and Death's Book of Tricks, all part of The Death-Cursed Wizard series. Three unpublished novels preceded Death's Collector, all of which he loves like children despite their irredeemable flaws. Bill earned a M.A. in Sociology from the University of Texas at Arlington. (Arlington lies halfway between Fort Worth and Dallas. The implications may best be imagined.) The most important thing he learned in college is that nobody is under any obligation to teach him anything, including professors. Especially professors, since they've attended classes on how to look down upon the uneducated. That detail may be fabricated, but the principle stands. People have paid Bill to do an odd variety of things, including construction, market research, acting, and managing software projects. He lives with his four cats, who are aspiring internet celebrities, and his lovely wife, a woman so keenly determined that she would always be able to kill him if it came to a knife fight.