Maxime Drouot, known by his pen name Maxime Chattam or Maxime Williams, is a renowned French novelist. After studying criminology, he specialized in writing crime novels. He grew up in the Parisian region and had a passion for cinema from a young age. At fourteen, after watching the film Stand by Me, he began rewriting it and adding his own twists. He discovered The Lord of the Rings and the science fiction novels of Stephen King, which greatly influenced him.

He attended the Cours Simon, worked as an extra in a Robert Hossein show, and acted in several television films. His first book, full of humor, is titled Le Coma des mortels. Alongside various odd jobs, he resumed studies in modern literature at university. To make a name for himself in the literary world, he worked at FNAC, all the while harboring aspirations to publish his manuscripts.