Fantasy writer Raymond E. Feist was born in Southern California. He received a B.A. in Communication Arts with honors from the University of California at San Diego in 1977. His first novel, Magician, published in 1982 is the first book of The Riftwar Saga. His other series include The Serpentwar Saga, The Empire Trilogy, The Riftwar Legacy, Krondor's Sons, Legends of the Riftwar, Conclave of Shadows, Darkwar Saga, Chaoswar Saga and Demonwar Saga. Feist's work appears regularly on the bestseller lists of The New York Times and The Times of London. He has also worked with Sierra Studios and PyroTechnix to produce a role-playing game.
Writer and educator William R. Forstchen was born in New Jersey in 1950. He received a B.A. from Rider College in Lawrenceville, New Jersey and a M.A. in European history and a Ph.D. in military history from Purdue University. Forstchen teaches at Montreat College in Asheville, North Carolina. Forstchen uses his knowledge of military history to create science fiction stories of other universes and societies. His series include Gamestar Wars, Ice Prophet, and The Lost Regiment. He is also the co-author with Newt Gingrich of 1945, an alternative history of World War II. His other stand-alone novels include The Four Magics, One Second After and Doctors of the Night.