Paul Williams was born in the UK but grew up in Zimbabwe and has lived on five continents. He has been, amongst other things, a frontline medic in a war, a radio DJ, a surfer, and a lead guitarist in several rock bands. He has published internationally across several genres: crime fiction, young adult fantasy and mystery, memoir, non-fiction, short stories and critical articles. His first writing projects sold in the hundreds of thousands in South Africa, Zimbabwe, Kenya and Swaziland. His memoir Soldier Blue won Book of the Year in South Africa, and Secret of Old Mukiwa won Best Young Adult fiction at the International African Book Fair.  He has a PhD from the USA and is currently the Program Leader of Creative Writing at the University of the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia.