Louisiana Breakdown

Lucius Shepard was born in Lynchburg, Virginia in 1947. He wrote in many different genres including science fiction and fantasy, cyberpunk, magical realism, poetry, and non-fiction. He published his first short stories in 1983 and his first novel, Green Eyes, in 1984. His other works include Life During Wartime, The Jaguar Hunter, and Two Trains Running. He won several awards including the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer in 1985, the Nebula Award for the novella R&R, the Hugo Award for the novella Barnacle Bill the Spacer, and the Shirley Jackson Award for the novella Vacancy. He died on March 18, 2014 at the age of 66.

Poppy Z. Brite is the author of seven novels, three collections of short stories, and much miscellanea. Known for her horror fiction, at present she is working on a series of novels and short stories set in the New Orleans restaurant world. Her novel Liquor was recently published to general critical acclaim, and her followup novel, Prime, will be released in 2005. She lives in New Orleans with her husband Chris, a chef.