Robert Beatty is the New York Times bestselling author of the magical and mystical middle grade Serafina and the Black Cloak and Serafina and the Twisted Staff. He lives in the forested Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina with his wife and three daughters (and four cats, four dogs and four horses). The Beattys love to explore the beautiful Biltmore Estate, the darkened forest trails, and the creepy old graveyards where his Serafina series for children takes place. In his past lives, Robert was the chairman of literary magazine, Narrative Magazine, one of the early pioneers of Cloud Computing, the founder/CEO of Plex Systems, and the founder of Beatty Robotics. In 2007, he was named an Entrepreneur of the Year. Find out more at www.robert-beatty.com.