Jim Heynen is perhaps best known for his short-short stories about “the boys.” He has published widely as the author of nonfiction, poetry, and novels and short fiction for both adults and young readers, most recently Ordinary Sins and The Fall of Alice K. His stories about “the boys” have often been featured on National Public Radio’s “All Things Considered,” as well as on radio in both Sweden and Denmark. Minnesota astronaut George Pinky Nelson took a taped collection of the stories for bedtime listening on his last space mission. Born on a farm in Northwest Iowa, Heynen was formerly the Books Editor of the Minneapolis Star Tribune and now lives in Saint Paul, Minnesota.