I was born in Yorkshire, England, then migrated to Australia at the age of twenty-one. I was always trying to write, but could never finish the stories I began. Instead I drifted around as a singer, songwriter and poet, then became a university tutor and finally a university lecturer. But after twenty-five years of writer’s block, I finally finished the cult novel, The Vicar of Morbing Vyle, and resigned my lectureship to follow my original dream. Since then, I've had seventeen books published, all fantasy, SF or horror/supernatural, ranging from Children’s to Young Adult to Adult. My biggest success internationally has come with my YA steampunk fantasies, Worldshaker and its sequels. I've won six Aurealis Awards (Australia's Nebulas) and the Prix Tam-tam du Livre Jeunesse for Le Worldshaker. I live with partner Aileen near Wollongong, south of Sydney, between golden beaches and green escarpment. Walking Yogi the Labrador while listening to music is my favourite relaxation—when I'm not writing like a mad workaholic, catching up on those wasted twenty-five years … My website for The Ferren Trilogy and other books is at www.ferren.com.au. I've also put up a comprehensive 145-page guide of tips for writing fantasy fiction at www.writingtips.com.au.

I'm the author of Traitor's Run (book 1 of The Lenticular Series), which is out now. Traitor's Bargain is out 1 Feb 2024 and the final book, Traitor's War is out 1 June 2024. I'm also the author of the sf thriller Horizon. I'm a past editor of Aurealis - Australian Science Fiction and Fantasy Magazine from 2001 to 2004. I hosted 30 episodes of the Terra Incognita Speculative Fiction Podcast, and edited and published Dimension6 the free Australian speculative fiction electronic magazine from 2014 to 2020.

Chuck McKenzie was born in 1970 and is still not dead. He is an award-nominated author of numerous science fiction and horror stories, and he hopes one day to be described by his neighbours as having seemed like such a nice man. You can stalk him on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/chuck.mcken...