Jeb Loy Nichols was raised in Missouri and Texas . He studied art in New York City and for many years has lived off the grid in Wales where he writes, produces art, makes music, and plants trees. His first novel, Suzanne and Gertrude, was published by Pushcart to international praise.

He lives in rural Wales and comments: "I live here in the hills because I don't want to be anywhere else. There are 9 million people in London, 8 million in New York, 16 million in Lagos. That's a whole lot of people, a whole lot of neon, an army of cars, mountains of plastic, oceans of oil. That's a whole heap of trouble right there. I'm not saying it's better or cleaner or less trouble out here, but it's definitely quieter. I try and be the least I can be. Bring the least disruption, the least intrusion, the smallest footprint, do the least prettifying; shut up and be still."