Gerry has lived in the Chicago area nearly all his life. His background includes over thirty years' involvement with aviation; he has flown in balloons, jet fighters and single-engine planes and has written about Canadian bush pilots, Arizona crop-dusters and Gulf of Mexico helicopter fleets. Janet Souter shares her husband Gerry's interest in history. She is president of their company, Avril 1 Group, Inc., and edits all of their joint copy. Janet has joined Gerry in balloon, helicopter and light aircraft flights. They are authors of over forty books, histories, biographies and young adult nonfiction. Their most recent book, written for The History Press, is titled Arlington Heights: A Brief History.