Goodkind was born and raised in Omaha, Nebraska, where he also attended art school, one of his many interests on the way to becoming a writer. Besides a career in wildlife art, he has been a cabinet maker, violin maker, and he has done restoration work on rare and exotic artifacts from around the world – each with its own story to tell, he says. In 1983 Goodkind moved to the forested mountains he loves. There, in the woods near the ocean, he built the house where he and his wife, Jeri, live, and came at last to tell his own stories.

'Few writers have Goodkind's power of creation' Publishing News 'Goodkind's greatest triumph: the ability to introduce instantly identifiable characters. His heroes, like us, are not perfect. Instead, each is flawed in ways that strengthen rather than weaken their impact.' SFX 'Outstanding ... Characters who actually behave like adults. Highly recommended' San Diego Union Tribune 'Eminently readable' Booklist 'A tour de force of mesmerising storytelling' Romantic Times 'A real born storyteller' Anne McCaffrey 'Everything one could ask for in an epic fantasy' Publishers Weekly