Andy Marino was born and raised in upstate New York. He spent his childhood orchestrating Lego pirate battles, drawing detailed maps of imaginary video games, and cheating death in Choose Your Own Adventure books. Profoundly influenced by the work of J.R.R. Tolkien, Andy started writing his first novel at the age of eleven. Tragically, THE RUNES OF ILLIARM was never completed. For books that were, visit Andy online at andy-marino.com.