CHARLIE QUIMBY is a fourth-generation Coloradan who spent most of his career in Minnesota after studying at Carleton College. Following an early stint as a bookseller and historical playwright, he wrote for the Minneapolis Star, Honeywell and then his own company, where he was an award-winning writer, annual report creative and marketing strategist. He is a co-author of Planning to Stay, a guide for how to assess your community and take control of its development. Since 2004, he's blogged about culture and politics at Across the Great Divide and splits time between his two home states, where he writes fiction and volunteers with the homeless.