Born and raised in picturesque Somerset, England, J.F.R. Coates moved to Brisbane in Australia as a teenager. He grew up reading from a young age, starting with Enid Blyton's The Famous Five and Secret Seven, before finding his calling with JRR Tolkien's The Hobbit. Fantasy has gripped him ever since, and now he calls amongst his favourite authors Maggie Furey, Philip Pullman, and Neil Gaiman.