TERRY BROOKS was born in Illinois in 1944. He spent a great deal of his childhood and early adulthood dreaming up stories in and around Sinnissippi Park, the very same setting for Running with the Demon. He received his undergraduate degree from Hamilton College, where he majored in English Literature, and went on to earn his graduate degree from the School of Law at Washington & Lee University. A writer since high school and heavily influenced by William Faulkner, it took him seven years to finish writing The Sword of Shannara, which published in 1977. It became the first work of fiction to ever appear on the New York Times trade paperback bestseller list, where it remained for over five months. He published The Elfstones of Shannara in 1982 and The Wishsong of Shannara in 1985, both bestsellers. Since that time, he has written numerous novels in the Shannara, Landover, Word/Void, and Viridian Deep series, including being hand-selected by George Lucas to write the novelization of Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, which hit #1 on the New York Times bestseller list. Terry Brooks lives with his wife Judine in the Pacific Northwest and on the road meeting his fans.