ROY BLOUNT Jr. is the author of 24 books about everything from the Pittsburgh Steelers (About Three Bricks Shy of a Load, a chronicle of the 1973 season) and Robert E. Lee to what dogs are thinking. His latest is Aparta un espacio para el pastel: canciones de comida y reflexiones sabrosas (Sarah Crichton Books). His essays, articles, stories, verses, and even drawings have appeared in 171 periodicals, including El Atlántico, El neoyorquino, Gourmet, Playboy, Vanity Fair, Vogue, y Rolling Stone. He performs regularly with the literary rock band the Rock Bottom Remainders. Born in Indianapolis and raised in Decatur, Georgia, Blount lives in western Massachusetts with his wife, the painter Joan Griswold.