Charles Ardai is the founder and editor of Hard Case Crime as well as an award-winning author. His five novels include the Shamus Award-winning SONGS OF INNOCENCE, which the Washington Post called “an instant classic.” In addition to the Shamus, Ardai has received the Edgar Allan Poe and Ellery Queen Awards. He was a writer and producer for six years on the TV series HAVEN, inspired by Stephen King’s first Hard Case Crime novel, THE COLORADO KID. King has called him “a true renaissance man” and “a master of the short story.” Ardai lives in New York.