Frank Edward Peretti is a New York Times best-selling author of Christian fiction, whose novels primarily focus on the supernatural. To date, his works have sold over 15 million copies worldwide. Peretti is widely recognized for his seminal novels This Present Darkness (1986) and Piercing the Darkness (1989), which are often credited with creating the Christian thriller genre.

Peretti has held ministry credentials with the Assemblies of God and formerly played the banjo in a bluegrass band called Northern Cross. He now resides in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, with his wife, Barbara. Peretti's journey began as a natural storyteller in Seattle, where he would regularly gather the neighborhood children for animated storytelling sessions. After high school, he transitioned from playing banjo with a local bluegrass group to touring with a pop band, eventually moving into a modest Christian music ministry.

His path took a significant turn when he shifted focus to study English, screenwriting, and film at UCLA, assisting his father in pastoring a small Assembly of God church. In 1983, Peretti made the pivotal decision to leave his pastoring position, dedicating himself to writing, a move that would eventually lead to his status as a publishing phenomenon. With more than 15 million novels in print, Peretti has been hailed as "America's hottest Christian novelist."