Cliff McNish was born in Sunderland, but has spent most of his life in the southeast of England. His daughter Rachel loved listening to his stories from an early age. THE DOOMSPELL started as one of these. 'But before I knew what was happening,' says Cliff, 'the whole magical world of Ithrea just wanted to come to life in a bigger way. It wanted to live!' Geoff Taylor was born in Lancaster, England in 1946. He studied Graphic Design at Chesterfield College of Art. After five years or so of working in advertising agencies in Nottingham, Geoff turned to illustrating book covers for most of the top fantasy writers of our time, both adult and children's fiction. Geoff was one of the illustrators for the legendary Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of "The War of the Worlds" album. Since 1994 he has added to some of the rich imagery of "Games Workshop" and the Black Library. Perhaps his true passions are best reflected in his wildlife paintings, especially wolves. He now lives in Cumbria with his wife. Find out more from his website www.geofftaylor.btinternet.co.uk.