NAME: Howard Roughan

ROGIN? RUFFIN?: Actually, it’s pronounced "Rowan"

BEFORE BECOMING AN AUTHOR: Advertising. Rose from lowly jr. copywriter to highly stressed creative director while teetering perilously close to becoming a complete and utter hack.

BUT SERIOUSLY: I wouldn’t have been able to write a single chapter let alone an entire novel without my advertising background.

CURRENTLY RESIDE IN: Ridgefield, Connecticut

MARRIED TO: Christine (10+ years). A former foreign-currency trader who initially seduced me with corporate skybox seats for every major sporting event in the New York Metropolitan area. I never stood a chance.

OUR PRIDE AND JOY: Trevor, our son.

MY ALMA MATER: Dartmouth.

IMPORTANT LESSON LEARNED THERE: Take professors, not courses.

MY COFFEE: Cream, no sugar.

MY TEAM: Yankees.

MY NIGHT STAND: Can’t You Get Along With Anyone? by Allan C. Weisbecker

FAVORITE FOODS: clams posillipo, grilled rib-eye, and my mother-in-law’s famous noodle casserole.

FAVORITE FILM: "The Candidate" with Robert Redford.

FAVORITE QUOTE: "There is no such thing as absolute certainty, but there is assurance sufficient for the purposes of human life." - John Stuart Mill

OBSCURE CLAIM TO FAME: Manhattan League Pinball Champion, 1990

BIZARRE ALLERGY: Most apples, some nuts, and all avocados make my inner ears itch. Very annoying. Especially because there’s no remedy.

BEST THING ABOUT BEING AN AUTHOR: Feedback from readers (as opposed to critics), good or bad.