William G. Carpenter was born on Long Island and grew up in Connecticut, Texas, and California.  A reader of Tolkien from 5th grade to the present, he studied comparative literature at the undergrad and graduate level, then went on to teach American, British, and world literature at Hebei University, CSU Chico, UCLA, CSU Long Beach, and UC Santa Cruz.  He has lived in the Twin Cities since the 1990s, where he enjoys walking along Lake Hiawatha with his wife and their rescue dog, Wuffa.