Tracy Townsend is the author of The Nine, book one of the Thieves of Fate series (Pyr), a gaslamp fantasy debut set in a world where theology is a science, three sentient species live in an uneasy truce, and the fate of humanity rests on the shoulders of nine unsuspecting individuals. By day, Tracy teaches creative writing and speculative fiction at the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy, a boarding school for gifted STEM students. By night, she wrangles two precocious children, two bumptious hounds, and one snarky husband. She can be found online at www.tracytownsend.net and on Twitter (@TracyATownsend).