Dan Simmons ( born April 4 , 1948 in Peoria , Illinois ) is an American writer best known for his Hugo Award-winning series called theHyperion Cantos , and for his Locus-winning Ilium\/Olympos cycle . Dan Simmons ( born April 4 , 1948 in Peoria , Illinois ) is an American author most widely known for his Hugo Award-winning science fiction series , known as the Hyperion Cantos , and for his Locus-winning Ilium\/Olympos cycle .