In the late twentieth century, a somewhat-less-than-trivial event occurred: Nick Balgaard was born. Sadly, and despite his parents’ best efforts, it took him a full six years to begin putting crayon to paper and exercising his potential as an author. Experts have speculated that it was Nick’s desire to harass his brothers that delayed his calling. Others have cited his addiction to apple juice. Whatever the case, he was not hot out of the gate. For Nick, surviving his teen years proved to be immensely difficult. Gangly, unathletic, and more interested in weeding dandelions than back-flipping from the family diving board, he generally did his best to make life look hard. After receiving a D+ in Adolescence, a B in Nerdiness, and an F- in Sports, Nick agreed to begin attending Adulthood—that ill-paved road that oft shook his hubcaps loose and sent them spinning into the weeds. It was during this era that he discovered the existence of beings known as “girls.” Whilst logging college exam scores in the 105% to 125% range, he discovered that school was not for him. Even so, he persevered. Per some fatherly advice, he understood the need to “pay the bills” someday. Thus, he decided to pursue one of the most exciting fields in the history of history: accounting. Finally, he started making headway with his novels. The trouble was that the publishing scene was (and still is) a dumpster fire of rejection. Knowing he would handle the publishing scene about as well as fish handle the desert, Nick decided to go the indie route. His first novel, Siren Falls, debuted in late 2022. Of those asked about it, 100% claimed it is “very good.”