Born and raised in Hollywood, California, Joan Lesley Hamilton Cline is the writer behind the pseudonym "William Sarabande" and author of Bantam Books' internationally bestselling eleven volume series of historical novels "The First Americans".Twice nominated for the Spur Award by Western Writers of America, she has been voted - along with Jean Auel - most popular author of mainstream historical fiction by readers of independent bookstores across the nation. Four of her titles have appeared on both the B. Dalton and Waldenbooks top ten bestseller lists simultaneously. Her novels in "The First Americans" series have been released in audio abridgments, hardcover editions by the Doubleday Book Club, and have been bestsellers in several foreign language translations.