Eric Murphy spent summers sailing the Ottawa River. After writing his M.A. thesis in Quebec City, he worked in New York and Paris. He sails when visiting relatives in Halifax, and in Toronto where he lives with his family and their Jack Russell, Fitzroy. Eric works as an actor and writer. His previous sailing adventures, The Phantom's Gold and The Dead Man's Boot, have been popular with readers and tourists in Canada and the United States. The Phantom's Gold was a Resource Links Year's Best of 2013 selection, and was shortlisted for the 2015 Manitoba Young Readers' Choice Award.