Q: You have a fairly whimsical biography on your web site. Would you tell us a little about your real background or do you prefer to remain mysterious?

A Hmm. I would actually prefer to remain mysterious. At one point very early in my career, I hit on the idea of manufacturing an enigmatic persona for myself-as-author. This would be an excellent approach, thought I in my
wisdom. Much the same way as rock stars (eg. Madonna) manufacture and
re-shape their images, so would I. To moi, My Real Life does not seem
interesting enough to splurge over the Internet, or even to discuss with
anyone (except, possibly, my Mum). On the other hand, some arcane, esoteric, archaeological, ineffable, astrological type of Life might prove more of a reader-magnet. Besides, there’s nothing more interesting than something that’s hidden. That was how the biography on my website came about.

Q: Anything you would like to share about your childhood, education, literary training, or life in general?

A: Well, yes. This IS real and does not conflict with the extraordinary
life-story that doubtless everyone now fully believes. During my early
childhood, before I learned to read, my Dad used to read to me every night.
This was always an eagerly looked-forward-to highlight. My Mum used to bring home armfuls of library books every week. (How she ferried them across to such a remote island, I’ll never know.) Her literary taste was centered on Science Fiction and Fantasy/Fairy-Tales. I grew up in a (light) house full of books, surrounded by people who loved to read. Reading was my delight, my passion, my escape from some of the not-so-nice events that can intrude upon even the most arcane, esoteric, and ineffable life. Copious, eclectic reading was my literary training. My formal education includes a University
degree in Sociology.

Q&A provided by the author, October 2001