Dan Simmons lives and writes in Shorewood with his wife, daughter and greyhound, Scramble. Hobbies include the Boston Celtics, building fires, coaching cross country and planning international trips that he will never actually take. He previously lived in rural China and Ireland. He especially misses the fried eggplant and pineapple-on-a-stick available from street vendors in the Hunan Province village he called home.