Anton Gill (aka Oliver Bowden) has been a full-time professional writer since 1984, and in the course of the last 27 years he has published 35 books. Gill was born in Ilford, Essex, the son of a German father and an English mother, and grew up in London. He is an acclaimed novelist and Renaissance historian currently living in Paris, France. Bowden has written novelizations of several of the Assassin's Creed console games. Oliver Bowden is a pen-name (a pseudonym adopted by the author) in order to hide his true identity. However, his profession and location are accurate. According to Bowden's interview with UbiWorkshop, he is an avid gamer and gains much of his inspiration for character development throughout the writing process from playing the Assassin's Creed series. Gill ceased being Oliver Bowden some years back and the author Andrew Holmes (Sleb, 64 Clarke) has published the last six titles of the Assassin's Creed series (The Secret Crusade, Forsaken, Black Flag, Unity, Underworld, and Desert Oath) using this pen-name.