Robert E. Howard (1906-1936) was born and raised in rural Texas, the son of a pioneer physician. He began writing professionally at the age of fifteen and turned out dozens of tales of heroic and supernatural fantasy, featuring many memorable creations - including the character he is best remembered for: Conan of Cimmeria. These stories, mostly published in Weird Tales, won him a huge audience across the world and influenced a whole generation of writers, from Robert Jordan to Raymond E. Feist. Sadly, Howard killed himself in June 1936 when he learned that his beloved mother had fallen into a coma.