Ryk E. Spoor was born in Omaha, Nebraska, and has since lived in South Dakota, Georgia, Pennsylvania, and New York. A fan of Oz from the time he was 6, Ryk collected all of the Baum Oz books and read them repeatedly, never forgetting them even when he graduated to the epic fantasy of Tolkien, the space opera of Doc Smith, the harder SF of Heinlein, Asimov, and Clement, and later becoming a computer geek, a gamer, and an anime fan. Along this fannish journey, Ryk also accumulated a few degrees (in Mathematics and Science, Psychology, and Information Science) and worked in various locations. He also met, dated, and married his wife Kathleen Moffre-Spoor, and they now have four children - all of whom have been introduced to Oz, among other stories of his youth. In 2000, Ryk cleverly attracted the attention of Baen Books by insulting the work of one of its editors, Eric Flint, online; this eventually led to the publication of his first book, Digital Knight, in 2003. With the publication of Polychrome Ryk E. Spoor enters the realm of self-publication; Polychrome is his eleventh book overall. He now lives in Troy, NY, with his family, one poodle, and a flock of chickens.