Author William G. Tapply was born in Waltham, Massachusetts in 1940. He has written numerous books about fly fishing and the outdoors as well as the Brady Coyne mystery novels. He was also a contributing editor for Field & Stream, a columnist for American Angler, and part of The Writer magazine editorial board. He was an English professor at Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts and ran The Writers Studio at Chickadee Farm with his wife Vicki Stiefel. He has authored over 40 books. He died at his home in Hancock New Hampshire on July 28, 2009 after a battle with leukemia.