Author and historian Morgan Llywelyn was born in New York City to Irish parents. As a teenager, she moved to Texas and by the age of sixteen was showing horses at championship levels throughout the United States. She made the shortlist for the United States Olympic Team in Dressage in 1976, but did not make the team. She also modeled for Neiman-Marcus and was a dance instructor for Arthur Murray. She writes historical novels that deal with her Celtic roots and is recognized as an expert in early Irish history and folklore. Her first novel was The Wind from Hastings, but she is better known for her second novel Lion of Ireland: The Legend of Brian Boru, which was published in 1980 and has… never been out of print. In 1990, she started writing for children and young adults. She won the 1991 Irish Children's Book Trust Bisto Award for Brian Boru and the 1993 Bisto Award in the Historical Fiction category and the 1993 Reading Association of Ireland Award for Strongbow: The Story of Richard and Aoife. She also writes short stories and has co-authored two fantasy novels with Michael Scott. She currently lives in Ireland.