Brian Smith has written for magazines and alt-weeklies, and his fiction has appeared in literary journals. He’s an award-winning journalist, first as a staff writer and columnist at Phoenix New Times and then as an editor at Detroit’s Metro Times. Before writing full time, Smith was a songwriter who fronted rock & roll bands Beat Angels and, before that, Gentlemen Afterdark He has penned tunes with lots of folks, including Alice Cooper. His songs have appeared in major TV shows. At one point he overcame heady crystal meth and alcohol addictions. As a kid growing up in Tucson, Ariz., Smith was a national class bicycle racer. He now lives back in Tucson. Spring 2017 saw the release of his debut collection of short stories, Spent Saints (Ridgeway Press). The stories have been made into short films, now collected into a series, available soon. He latest book, a collection of essays and columns, Tucson Salvage: Tales and Recollections from La Frontera, is out mid-November 2018 (and January 2019 stateside) on London-based publisher Eyewear Press.