About the Author​

Chris J. Bennem fell in love with books and fantasy at the same time beginning with his reading of The Hobbit when he was six. His lifelong career in books began in earnest when he became the buyer/manager in charge of science-fiction and fantasy at his local independent bookstore [The Lift Bridge Bookshop in Brockport, NY], a position he held throughout his college years. A Winner of the Warren M. Morgan Memorial Award, Chris graduated at the top of the Department of English with a concentration in Creative Writing at SUNY College at Brockport, after studying with authors such as Nancy Kress, Stephen Donaldson, and Connie Willis, Indulging his love of antiquarian books by working in the Rare Books Department in Dillon’s in London and a string of antiquarian bookshops in the states, he would eventually embark on a twenty-year long career in publishing. This career would span everything from selling trade titles for Ballantine/Del Rey to ultimately being an editor and publisher working with some of the foremost teachers of Composition and Writing in colleges and universities across the country.  But throughout this time, his first love of fantasy was never far away, and he would devote his spare time to creating the characters and places that would eventually become the setting of Qapar. He now holds an MFA in Creative Writing from St. Francis College where he studied with authors Theo Black Gangi, Jason Starr, Lincoln Michel, and Marlon James, and is a graduate of the Novelry where he studied with World Fantasy Award-Winner Tasha Suri. When he is not writing, Chris splits his time between being a freelance editor and renovating Glen Hollow, the Finger Lakes home of writer-recluse Elias Koenig.