Scott Ciencin was a New York Times best-selling novelist of 90+ books. He wrote adult and children's fiction and worked in a variety of mediums including comic books. He created programs for Scholastic Books, designed trading cards, consulted on video games, directed and produced audio programs & TV commercials, and wrote in the medical field about neurosurgery and neurology. He first worked in TV production as a writer, producer and director. He lived in Sarasota, Florida with his wife (and sometimes co-author) Denise. (Also wrote under the pseudonyms Nick Baron and L.J. Oliver)

Richard Awlinson is the pseudonym used for the initial trilogy of the Avatar Series in the Forgotten Realms. Book One, Shadowdale, was written by Scott Ciencin Book Two, Tantras, was written by Scott Ciencin and edited by James Lowder Book Three, Waterdeep, was written by Troy Denning