Eric Nierstedt grew up in central New Jersey, raised on a healthy diet of TV, comic books, and way, way too many books. As a child, he constantly daydreamed about his favorite stories and re-adapting them to accommodate the early characters he was creating. (And really, who didn't think that Lord of the Rings could use more characters?)

In high school, Eric started the early drafts of what would become The Lightrider Journals, an epic fantasy trilogy. The first draft clocked in a record nine pages, but thankfully, high school is four years long. After being accepted to Kean University, Eric continued working on Lightrider, eventually expanding the book to well over 300 pages and crafting a much richer tale of Elemental Knights and otherworldly demons.