G. P. Taylor's astonishing life has more plot twists than one of his novels. The bestseller, "Shadowmancer" stormed the literary world, rocketing to top sales on both sides of the Atlantic. Who could have predicted that an English country vicar would have such a hit on his hands? But that's only one chapter in the roller-coaster life of G. P. Taylor. Kicked out of school for trying to set fire to a teacher's desk, Graham Taylor dived head first into London's punk rock scene in the early 1980s. It's unlikely that someone savoring a life of sex, drugs, and rock music would end up on a police force, but it happened. Then Taylor topped that surprise by becoming a vicar. Assigned to a church on the northeast coast of England, Taylor delved into the fascinating history of the region - tales of smugglers, storms at sea, and people lost on the moors. At the same time, he felt a growing concern about an occult presence in contemporary children's fiction. These two interests came crashing together as Taylor created his award-winning novels, "Shadowmancer", and "Wormwood". Then, with "Shadowmancer" topping the "New York Times" bestseller list and Hollywood beckoning, a near-fatal heart condition almost cost him everything. Filled with unforeseeable twists and turns, G. P. Taylor's life story, like one of his novels, is a tale that you won't want to put down.

Author Biography

Bob Smietana is an award winning journalist and features editor for the Covenant Companion magazine, a correspondent for Religion News Service (RNS), and freelance religion writer whose stories have appeared in national and regional US newspapers (including the Washington Post, LA Times, and Chicago Tribune) and national religious magazines, such as Christianity Today, the Christian Century, Sojourners, and US Catholic. He was one of the first American journalists to interview Graham Taylor and has written about Taylor for RNS and Christianity Today. He lives outside of Chicago with his wife, Kathy, and their three children Graham "G. P." Taylor is the author of the international bestselling Shadowmancer and Wormwood, both of which were nominated for the prestigious British book award known as the Nibbies. Wormwood was also nominated this spring for the Quills award as children's book of he year in the United States. His third novel, Tersias, was released in August 2005. Taylor lives in North Yorkshire with his wife, Kathy, and their three daughters.