I was born in Cobham, Kent, and spent my early years in West Africa and Ireland, until my family eventually settled in Leicestershire. When I was nine years old, I decided I wanted to be an archaeologist, in the mistaken belief that they spent their time digging up dinosaur bones. When I discovered what they actually did, and got over the disappointment of a life without dinosaurs,I never looked back. I went on my first dig at the age of twelve, and spent school holidays happily up to my ears in mud on sites in England and Scotland. I worked for most of my adult life in archaeology, and most recently worked as an archaeological illustrator for a commercial unit in Northamptonshire. I now write full time and use my background in archaeology as a starting point for my books.