Colin Bateman is from Bangor, Co Down. For many years, he was deputy editor of the County Down Spectator. He is the author of six comic novels, including Divorcing Jack, which won the Betty Trask Award in 1994, and Turbulent Priests, which didn't. He has written the screenplay for the feature film Wild About Harry, which will be released in February (the book of the screenplay will be published in February also). His next Dan Starkey novel, Shooting Sean, will be published in May. He now lives in Ratoath, Co Meath.