J. Todd Scott has been a Special Agent with the DEA since 1995. In his years at the agency, he worked as part of a crew on an undercover vessel in the South Pacific during an investigation of international maritime smuggling, trained Haitian police officers on drug investigations, worked undercover in meth lab cases in his Kentucky hometown, and led a multi-agency Strike Force dedicated to attacking Mexican cartel smuggling routes—an effort profiled by Colonel Oliver North on War Stories: On the Border for Fox News. Todd was also featured on National Geographic’s series Drugs Inc. During his rotation to the DEA’s office in Washington DC, he consulted with filmmakers on DEA-related stories and movies, and, encouraged by this exposure to working writers, renewed his lifelong passion for creative writing. When he was promoted to Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the El Paso Division, the move provided the backdrop for The Far Empty.