Patrick Fitzgerald was born in the American midwest to two teachers and developed a passion for reading and writing fantasy at a young age. He graduated from the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana with a major in Creative Writing and one year later, sold his debut novel at age 23. Since then, Patrick has worked in auto insurance and spends the majority of his free time playing and obsessing over heavy metal. Outside of brief stints in England and Ireland, he has lived in Normal, Illinois his entire life.