Playwright, novelist, short story writer, and essayist Gary Earl Ross is a retired University at Buffalo professor. His produced plays include Sleepwalker, Matter of Intent, Picture Perfect, The Best Woman, Murder Squared, The Scavenger's Daughter, The Mark of Cain, The Guns of Christmas, The Trial of Trayvon Martin, and the forthcoming Breath at the Edge of the Storm). His books include The Wheel of Desire, Shimmerville, Blackbird Rising, and the Gideon Rimes mysteries Nickel City Blues, Nickel City Crossfire, and Nickel City Storm Warning. Among his honors are the Edgar Award from Mystery Writers of America, three Emanuel Fried Outstanding New Play Awards, public radio commentary awards from the New York Associated Press and the New York Broadcasters Association, and assorted fellowships, grants, and residencies for fiction and drama.