John Peyton Cooke was born in Amarillo, Texas, in 1967, and grew up in Laramie, Wyoming. He has published five novels, including TORSOS, THE CHIMNEY SWEEPER, and HAVEN. His short fiction has been published in several magazines and anthologies, including Christopher Street, The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, and BEST AMERICAN MYSTERY STORIES 2003. John currently lives in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, with his partner and their dog Ricky, a toy poodle and petty thief.