Chris Tebbetts was born in Yellow Springs, Ohio. He received a degree in Radio-TV-Film from Northwestern University. After graduation, he moved to New York City where he worked through the various technical aspects of producing plays. He eventually started directing. After eight years, he decided to move to Burlington, Vermont and focus on writing. He took writing classes and attended numerous writing conferences and workshops. This eventually led to a four-book fantasy adventure series called the Viking Saga. He also writes the Middle School series with James Patterson.