Robert Jordan

Robert Jordan is the pen name of James Oliver Rigney, Jr. (born October 17, 1948), under which he is best known as the author of the bestselling The Wheel of Time fantasy series. He also writes under the name Reagan O'Neal.

Rigney was born and still resides in Charleston, South Carolina. He served two tours in Vietnam (from 1968-70) with the U.S. Army where he earned the Distinguished Flying Cross with bronze oak leaf cluster, the Bronze Star with "V" and bronze oak leaf cluster, and two Vietnamese Gallantry Crosses with palm.

After returning from Vietnam he attended the The Citadel where he received an undergraduate degree in physics. After graduating he was employed by the US Navy as a nuclear engineer. He began writing in 1977. He is a history buff and enjoys hunting, fishing, sailing, poker, chess, pool and pipe collecting. He currently lives in a house built in 1797 with his wife Harriet McDougal who works as a book editor (currently with Tor Books).

On March 23, 2006, Jordan disclosed in a statement in a firm and optimistic tone that he has been diagnosed with primary amyloidosis with cardiomyopathy, and that, with treatment, his median life expectancy is four years, though he says he intends to beat the statistics. He later posted on his Dragonmount blog to encourage his fans not to worry about him and that he intends to have a long and fully creative life, working for another 30 years.

He began chemotherapy treatment at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota in early April 2006. Mr. Jordan is currently enrolled in a study using the drug Revlimid just approved for multiple myeloma but not yet tested on primary amyloidosis.

On January 22, Jordan's blog announced that the Lambda light chain levels had dropped to a rating of 2.70. This reduction was sustained throughout another break in Jordan's use of Revlimid, which he briefly came off again due to side effects attributed to the drug. It should be noted that for the first time since his diagnosis in March 2006 Mr. Jordan's Lambda light chains are within the normal limits.