Neal Barrett, Jr., born on November 3, 1929, in San Antonio, TX was a Texas writer of over fifty novels and numerous short stories of mystery/suspense, fantasy, science fiction, and historical novels, and a bit of mainstream fiction. Barrett has a B.A. from the University of Oklahoma and worked in public relations before turning to write full-time. He won a Nebula Award in 1990 and a Texas Institute of Letters Award in 2000. In l997, Barrett was Guest of Honor and Toastmaster at the 55th World Science Fiction Convention. He passed at the age of 84 on January 12, 2014, in Austin, TX.