Seth Margolis was brought home from Boston Lying In Hospital to a cozy one-bedroom apartment in Boston's Back Bay, spent his first four years in a Dutch colonial in Newton, Massachusetts, spent the next 12 years in suburban Westchester County, New York, first in a Tudor revival, and later in an 18th century center-hall colonial. He now lives with his wife, Carole, and two teenage children, Maggie and Jack, in a "classic six" pre-war co-op in Manhattan with a renovated kitchen, updated bathrooms, southern exposure and inadequate closet space.

Real estate aside, Seth received a BA in English from the University of Rochester and an MBA in marketing from New York University's Stern School of Business Administration. When not writing fiction, he is a branding consultant for a wide range of companies, primarily in the financial services, technology and pharmaceutical industries. He writes occasional articles for the New York Times on travel and entertainment.

CLOSING COSTS is Seth's sixth published novel. His third book, LOSING ISAIAH, was made into a feature film starring Halle Berry and Jessica Lange.