J.R. Potter grew up in New England steeped in the wondrous author and illustrator collaboration between John Bellairs (1938-1991) and Edward Gorey (1925-2000), a collaboration that would set the bar for Potter in his own work for years to come. While studying History at Brown University, he began writing his first story for young readers--a tale about an erudite talking dinosaur with a magical robotic briefcase.