Robert Franks was born in norfolk, England. His father was a dairy farmer, his mother a nurse and his sister a frequent sparring partner. Brought up in the middle of the Norfolk countryside, he grew up with JRR Tolkein, Anne Macaffrey and Alan Dean foster for company. Oh, and 12 dachshunds, a welsh collie, two pekinese, a great dane, two bassett hounds, innumerable farm cats, a rabbit hutch of both rabbits and guineapigs,a golden pheasant, some chickens and a rather cantankerous old goose.He wrote from an early age, completing his first full length novel at the age of 15. It was never published, but certain characters never went away, and have resurfaced in his most recent books, The Glass Apple Series.He worked as a shop manager for many years, and his writing was put, for the main part, to one side.The first three chapters of The Glass Apple were finished way back in 1997, but again work took priority. In the winter of 2009, he was made redundant when his shop was closed. Since then he has returned to his first love, writing. The first four books of the Glass Apple series (The Glass Apple; Spider's Web; Song of the Shaman; Legacy of the Abandoned One) are available in both paperback and kindle. The 5th book, Child of Mount Pelion, is scheduled for release 2016. A spin off series of 4 steampunk themed books, under the collective name of The Eldritch Shards, is also planned. Aimed at a mature audience, the first book, Harlequin Glass, follows Marie, Etain's grand-daughter, and her life in an alternate world version of New Orleans.