Gene Clements is an artist, architect, and educator. He began the Tilly and Elmer series by writing a couple of paragraphs about a frisky older couple. His friends thought they were funny and wanted to find out what was going to happen if he finished the story. Now they know, for better or worse.
Gene grew up in a small town in the Midwest although he now lives in California. He thinks he's eighteen, but he's really the same age as Tilly and Elmer. These stories aren't necessarily autobiographical. Gene knows a lot of interesting people and has a prolific imagination; a dangerous combination.