Ian Tregillis is the son of a bearded mountebank and a discredited tarot card reader. He is the author of Bitter Seeds, and the forthcoming sequel novels The Coldest War (October, 2011) and Necessary Evil. He is also a contributor to the Wild Cards novels Inside Straight, Busted Flush, and Suicide Kings. He lives in New Mexico, where he consorts with writers, scientists, and other unsavory types. He has sunburn.