I'm 50 years old - ish, born in the UK. After doing a psychology degree at Durham, and a PhD at London in 1989, I joined BP. My main motivation was travel, and so with BP I worked and lived in Australia, Spain, Portugal and Japan. By 2002 we had 4 children, and decided to settle - emigrating to Australia in 2004. I started writing 'The Sweet Smell of Decay' in 1994 - during our first visit to Australia - and finished it in 2008. Between 1994 and 2008 I learned to write, and completely immersed myself in the history of the period. The sequel to 'Sweet Smell', 'A Plague of Sinners' was published in May 2010, and the third in the series 'Hearts of Darkness' is now out in paperback. Currently working on a new project ...