William D. Ellis was born in Concord, Massachusetts. He began writing at the age of 12, at the urging of an elementary-school teacher who early on discerned his talent. Ellis's study of the history of Ohio provided him material that he evetually used as the foundation for a trilogy of novels: Bounty Lads, Jonathan Blair: Bounty Lands Lawyer, and The Brooks Legend. Each of his novels appeared on best-seller lists, and the trilogy itself eventually earned its author a Pulitzer Prize nomination. The most important recurring theme in his works is the triumph of survival.