William C. Dietz (1945–2026) was the New York Times bestselling author of more than sixty novels, including Halo: The Flood, StarCraft: Heaven’s Devils, and the Legion of the Damned series. He grew up in the Seattle area, served as a medic with the Navy and the Marines, and graduated from the University of Washington. Dietz worked as a surgical technician, a news writer, a college instructor, a television producer, and a director of public relations for an international telephone company prior to embarking on a full-time writing career.