Born in New Mexico in 1957, Mark Coggins earned two degrees and a Phi Beta Kappa key from Stanford University. He has worked for a number of Silicon Valley computer and venture capital firms, including Netscape Communications and three (other) software start-ups. He introduced the character of August Riordan in a novella titled “There’s No Such Thing as Private Eyes” published in The New Black Mask, vol. 4, Harcourt, Brace Jovanovich. He lives in San Francisco with his wife Linda and their cat Taki.