John Flanagan (edit name/settings)

His best known work is the Ranger's Apprentice novel series, which is about a boy named Will who is taken as an apprentice Ranger to the grim and mysterious Halt.</p>
Biography
Prior to becoming a novelist, John Flanagan did advertising and television commercials. He co-created the television series Hey Dad! He originally wrote the books for his son, to encourage him to read. He started the series over 10 years ago and is still at work on them today. John Flanagan's book Rangers Apprentice will be turned into a film in 2010. There are currently 10 books published, and all of them have been released in the United States of America.

In 2008, he won the Australian Publishers Association's Book of the Year for Older Children and the International Success Award for Erak's Ransom.

-From Wikipedia

Here is the link to Ranger's Apprentice website: http://us.penguingroup.com/static/packages/us/yreaders/rangersapprentice/index.html
Australian website: http://www.rangersapprentice.com.au
UK website: http://www.rangersapprentice.co.uk