Kevin Waltman was born in Bedford, Pennsylvania, and spent his teens and twenties in Indiana—time spent mostly around basketball courts and political events. He moved to Tuscaloosa, Alabama in 2001 to get his MFA in fiction at The University of Alabama. There, he met his wife, Jessica Kidd. He now lives in Coker, Alabama, with Jessica, their daughter Calla, and their dog Henry. He teaches. He writes. He gardens. He cuts kudzu from their woods. He is the author of four y.a. novels. The first two are Nowhere Fast and Learning the Game. The two most recent—Next and Slump—are the first two parts of a four-part series from Cinco Puntos Press. The third in the series, Pull, will be out in late 2015. You can see more about Kevin, or find teaching guides to some of his work, at kevinwaltman.com..