M. Francis Sneyd
The author was born in 1938 in Leicester.
His formative years were spent at secondary intermediate school before he went on to become an apprentice to a coppersmith, spending his working life as a time-served metalworker.
He married his wife, Carol, at Christchurch Priory in 1963 and two years later they had twins – a girl and a boy – named Julie and Paul.
A lot of his life was spent living on a narrow boat on the canals in the Midlands, which was a most enjoyable experience.
Writing started initially as something to do and his first story, 'When the Devil Drives', is still to be edited. This was followed by Big Business and then 'Cities at Peace'.
At the age of seventy he had cancer of the rectum, requiring surgery.
In October 2010 he and Carol moved to Christchurch in Dorset, where he still lives today.