Robert Lynn Asprin was born in New York City on April 11, 1939. He attended the University of Kansas, receiving a bachelor's degree in geology. While attending the university, he did not have much success with his writing at first, but did start regularly publishing short stories in science fiction magazines during the early 1960s. One of his earliest published works was an article about an imaginary device known as the "Scattergun", which appeared in Galaxy Science Fiction magazine in 1963
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The same year, he sold his first science fiction story to Galaxy, "Mirror Image", which was followed by "Pitfall" and another story in 1964 that appeared in Galaxy, "Master of the Maze". Both stories were expanded into full-length novels by 1965; they were published under the pen name Robert Lynn and credited to "Robert Lynn Asprin". Both novels were revised and expanded into revised and expanded versions for DAW Books: The Amazing Transparent Man (1965) and The Second Book of Swords (1966).
Both were later reprinted with new cover art by the Dragonlance line of books. In 1967 his novel The Crystal Goblet (the first in a series) was published by Ace Books with cover art by Frank Frazetta. Several more books followed: The Magic Mirror of Merlin (1967) and Merlin's Daughter (1968); both were written under the pseudonym Robert Lynn and credited to "Robert Lynn Asprin".
In 1968 he co-wrote The Once and Future King with Stephen Lawhead and it was published by Ballantine Books. Asprin is most famous for his work on Thieves World, which he wrote under the pen name "Peter David" from 1980 - 2000.