Jefferson Smith is a restless spirit. His various careers have included cartoonist, magician, scientist, teacher, computer programmer, visual effects consultant, animator, composer, stand-up comedian and small-engine repair lackey. His first career was in Hollywood's special effects infrastructure — back when computer animation was still a fresh and exciting way to make a living. Emboldened by that heady experience, he then veered into the fast lane, bound for high-tech fame and fortune, only to slam into a bridge abutment, leaving several startup software companies scattered about him in the ditch. Now penniless and frightened, he has retreated to Saskatoon - the city "least likely to succumb to invasion, natural disaster or the inevitable collapse of Western Civilization" - to raise his family, suffocate his education with a PhD, and pursue his boyhood dream of becoming destitute and unknown author. So far, that plan has hit no obstacles. Strange Places is his first novel.