I grew up on a stony stretch of the south coast, nourished by a balanced diet of fantasy, sci-fi and horror. Surrounded as I was by the happy – if noisy – chaos of siblings and foster-siblings, it’s little wonder I frequently escaped to the worlds of books, and on occasion would feign illness to stay home from school and read Terry Brooks, Tolkein, or Ursula K Le Guin. (Sorry, Mum.)

For a kid who read so much, and asked so many questions, it took me an embarrassingly long time to realise that being an author was an actual job. It took even longer to become one. Along the way, I’ve been a product designer, a communications director, a speechwriter, magazine editor and webcaster, though rarely at the same time.

Nowadays I’m a copywriter and editor with a specialism in tech and digital engineering. These themes frequently creep into the MG/teen/YA stories I write, although my speculative adventures tend to have higher stakes and fewer meetings. Home is South London, where I live with my wife and – when they’re home from uni – our two daughters. They all wish I’d stop beginning sentences with, ‘What if…’

Rep’d by Callen Martin @ Bell Lomax Moreton