Matt Phillips was a finalist for a Thriller Award in 2024. He earned his MFA in Creative Writing from UTEP in 2016. His books include Second Lies the Son, A Good Rush of Blood, To Bring My Shadow, The Rule of Thirds, You Must Have a Death Wish, Countdown, Know Me from Smoke, The Bad Kind of Lucky, Accidental Outlaws, Three Kinds of Fool, Redbone, and Bad Luck City. Short fiction has appeared or been anthologized in Romy Lives, Myopic Duplicity, Weren't Another Other Way to Be: Outlaw Fiction Inspired by the Songs of Waylon Jennings, Dead-End Jobs: A Hitman Anthology, The Eviction of Hope, Tough Vol. 1, Mystery Tribune, Retreats from Oblivion, Yellow Mama, Shotgun Honey, Flash Fiction Offensive, Tough, Near to the Knuckle, Powder Burn Flash, and Pulp Metal Magazine.