Will Hobbs was born on August 22, 1947, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Since his father was an engineer in the Air Force, Will and his sister and three brothers moved frequently, giving Will the experience of growing up in the Panama Canal Zone, Alaska, Virginia, Texas, and California.

He credits much of his interest and expertise in the outdoors to scouting, which he says he became involved in because of his mother's influence—she herself was an Eagle Scout who once met Eleanor Roosevelt at an International Girl Scout Conference.

Will attended and graduated from Stanford University where he earned his B.A. and M.A. in English. After graduating, Will and his wife Jean moved to Colorado in 1972 where he taught secondary school from 1973 to 1989. They both love the outdoors and the natural settings that Will incorporates into his books. They have no children, but...