Syngin: Fantasy Novel Database: R. A. Salvatore Biography

Biography: Bob Salvatore was born in Massachusetts in 1959. His love affair with fantasy, and with literature in general, began during his sophomore year of college when he was given a copy of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings as a Christmas gift. He promptly changed his major from computerscience to journalism. He received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Communications from Fitchburg State College in 1981, then returned for the degree he always cherished, the Bachelor of Arts in English. He began writing seriously in 1982, penning the manuscript that would become Echoes of the Fourth Magic.

His first published novel was The Crystal Shard from TSR in 1988. Since that time, Bob has published numerous novels, including the New York Times Bestselling The Halfling's Gem, Sojourn, and The Legacy, the first hardcover for Bob and for TSR. Bob held many jobs during those first years as a writer, finally settling in (much to our delight) to write full time in 1990. R.A. Salvatore is best known as the creator of the dark elf Drizzt, one of the fantasy genre's most beloved characters. Over three million R.A. Salvatore novels have been sold with many translated into different languages and audio versions.