Where Writers Write - Jeff Somers

Welcome to another installment of TNBBC's Where Writers Write!

Where Writers Write is a weekly series that will feature a different author every Wednesday as they showcase their writing spaces using short form essay, photos, and/or video. As a lover of books and all of the hard work that goes into creating them, I thought it would be fun to see where some of TNBBC's favorite authors roll up their sleeves and make the magic happen.

This is Jeff Somers. He was born in Jersey City, New Jersey and regrets nothing. He wrote his first novel at age 11 and was crushed when he learned manuscripts completely devoid of punctuation marks were unsellable, and vowed revenge on the publishing industry. After becoming an Eagle Scout, graduating from St. Peter's Preparatory School, and a summer spent working manual labor, he attended Rutger University and earned an English degree, having nothing better to do. In 1995 he published the first issue of his zine The Inner Swine, which saw its 60th issue hit the streets in 2011. In 1999 he sold his first novel, Lifers, to a small California-based publisher for a case of beer and some kind words; despite a favorable review in The New York Times copies of the book remain largely concentrated in his crawlspace. In 2004, he sold the first Avery Cates novel, The Electric Church. The fifth novel in the series, The Final Evolution, was released in 2011.

Jeff has also published a few dozen short stories. His story “Ringing the Changes”, which appeared in the anthology Danger City in 2006, was chosen for inclusion in The Best American Mystery Stories 2006, edited by Otto Penzler with guest Editor Scott Turow, and his story “Sift, Almost Invisible, Through” appeared in the anthology Crimes by Moonlight edited by Charlaine Harris, in 2010.

He drinks, has many cats, is married, and does not understand why pants are required attired at all social occasions. And now, he shows us where the writing happens:

Where Jeff Somers Writes

Check back next week and see where Jennifer Spiegel gets her writing on!