I was born in London, England in 1933. My father served in the Metropolitan Police most of his working life, and my mother, when she worked, was a shorthand typist (a stenographer). I have two sisters, five and thirteen years younger than I. I attended public elementary and secondary schools, and went to Cambridge to study engineering. Before I could enter university, I had to complete my National (military) Service, which was compulsory in the early 1950's. I served two years in the Royal Air Force, completing part of a pilot training course and then qualifying as an air navigator. After a few years with the Rolls-Royce aero-engine division, I emigrated to Australia with my young family in 1959, and taught Mechanical Engineering at the University of Queensland for 14 years, before switching to educational development, running workshops and other activities for academics, intended to enhance their teaching performance and their students' learning. I took early retirement in 1995. Apart from writing novels, I like reading, listening to music, solving cryptic crosswords, walking our beagle, Kafka, and playing tennis with my younger sister.