Frank Lauria was born in Brooklyn, New York, and graduated from Manhattan College. He is a published poet and songwriter and has worked in the publishing industry as a copywriter and editor. He has been writing novels since 1970 and his twenty books include five bestsellers. He has traveled extensively through the Middle East, Morocco, and Europe to research his occult novels. He lived through and participated in the Beat era, reading poetry with Jack Kerouac, Alan Ginsberg, and most of the other well-known artists associated with the movement. He lives in San Francisco, where he teaches creative writing and performs with his rap band.
Lauria blogs regularly and publishes installments in his autobiographical journey through the cultural past of the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s.
Lauria is perhaps best known for the seven volumes of the Doctor Orient series. Doctor Orient is a delver into mystery and the arcane, a knowledgeable man on all subjects occult, and a seeker of truth. His adventures take him around the world and into the depths of psychic and spiritual challenge and adventure. The books in the series areย Doctor Orientย (1971),ย Raga Sixย (1972),ย Lady Sativaย (1973),ย Baron Orgazย (1974),ย The Priestessย (1978),ย The Seth Papersย (1979), andย Blue Limboย (1991). An eighth Doctor Orient novel is currently in the works.
Lauria has written a number of tie-in and young adult novelizations of hit movies, includingย Dark Cityย (1997),ย Pitch Blackย (1999), andย End of Daysย (1999), as well as a series of Zorro novelizations.