Like generations of his family before him, William Rawlings, Jr. was born in Sandersville, Georgia where he lives on the family farm with his wife and two children.
"I really wouldn't want to be anywhere else," he explains. "This is 'home' in the finest sense of the word. Both my father's and mother's families arrived here in the late eighteenth century and, for whatever reason, we stay because this seems to be the place we belong."

Rawlings was educated at Emory University in Oxford and Atlanta and at Tulane University in New Orleans where he earned a Master's Degree and his Doctorate in Medicine.   He did his postgraduate  medical  training  in  Internal Medicine at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, after which he returned to Sandersville to practice medicine. Although he has numerous academic publications to his credit, fiction writing
is a relatively recent interest. "I think one of the most fascinating jobs in all the world is to practice medicine in a small, relatively rural Southern town. Perhaps I have an undue advantage; I grew up here so I know-or know of-most people, many of whom I claim as relatives. It doesn't take long to realize that a place rich in history and populated by memorable characters is an inspiration and a rich resource for anyone who aspires to
be a writer."

Rawlings's interests vary widely. He has a number of business interests other than the practice of medicine. He is an inveterate collector of things odd, ranging from oriental porcelains to Persian carpets to an eclectic assemblage of American and European art. "Travel is probably my biggest addiction. I usually make several trips out of the country each year. I think I inherited that from my grandfather. He practiced medicine here in Sandersville until he was well into his nineties, but for decades starting in the 1930's
traveled extensively on a regular basis in Central and South America."

When asked why he writes and how he chooses his plots, Rawlings replies, "I think the most successful writers are those who really understand what they are writing about.
It was not a conscious effort in the beginning, but I have discovered that I love writing about the real South that still exists outside of urban areas, about interesting characters based on people that I have known, and about situations that-if they didn't really happen just as I said they did-could have."

Rawlings's first novel The Lazard Legacy was published by Harbor House in 2003 and
was a commercial success. His second novel The Rutherford Cipher, also by Harbor House, debuted in September 2004. "It's got a great plot," he explains. "For my readers I finally answer that old mystery about what really happened to the Confederate gold…."

Rawlings's third novel The Tate Revenge was released by Harbor House in September 2005.  It's the story of Nathan Bedford Forrest Finch, youngest son and (as his mother said) “a change-of-life surprise” for a Vidalia Onion farmer and his wife living near Soperton, Georgia.  It has a complicated plot with a “Southern” twist, starting off in Paris, moving to Savannah, and wending its way across south Georgia before ending up in Atlanta.  It involves (in addition to Vidalia Onions), the travel industry, art stolen by the Nazis during World War II, Paris and the Eiffel Tower, Serbian war criminals, southern racists, Iranian terrorists, the Port of Savannah, the antiques business, and Underground Atlanta.

His next novel, Crossword, released in September 2006, brings back Matt Rutherford and Lisa Li from The Rutherford Cipher.  The story begins when Matt is asked to help identify the severed head of a would-be hit man.   The intended target was Stewart Jarrard, a lawyer from "up North" who has moved to the small Southern town of Walkerville seeking a more relaxed lifestyle.  Soon Matt is sucked into a vortex of murder and conspiracy that carries him from the bright lights of New York City to the calm luxury of the Georgia coast, all the while pursued by an unseen enemy threatening his death.  The plot moves rapidly with wildly unexpected twists and turns.  It has "more peaks than the Himalayas," in the words of one reviewer.