David Hagberg (1942-2019) was a New York Times bestselling author who published numerous novels of suspense, including his bestselling thrillers featuring former CIA director Kirk McGarvey, which include Abyss, The Cabal, The Expediter, and Allah’s Scorpion. He earned a nomination for the American Book Award, three nominations for the Mystery Writers of America Edgar Allan Poe Award and three Mystery Scene Best American Mystery awards. He spent more than thirty years researching and studying US-Soviet relations during the Cold War. Hagberg joined the Air Force out of high school, and during the height of the Cold War, he served as an Air Force cryptographer.

Lawrence Light is an award-winning financial journalist who now works as an editor and writer for CBS Moneywatch. Previously, he has served as: editor-in-chief of investing site AdviceIQ.com; investing editor of the Wall Street Journal; finance editor of Forbes and Money; and the corporate finance reporter for Business Week, where he won the National Magazine Award. He started his news career as a police reporter at the Long Island daily Newsday, where he was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. Light is also the former executive vice president of Mystery Writers of America, where he now serves as treasurer and a national board member. He has been an Edgar judge several times, and most recently served as chief judge for PBOs. His short stories have appeared in numerous outlets, such as Wall Street Noir, Thriller 2, Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, and Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine.