Born 1954, Mortimer, Berkshire. Product of the village baker and his worker.
1960-73 - lived in Southampton. Went to Heathfield Primary and a well-known boys' grammar school I am still trying to forget.
1973-74 - Drama student, University of Exeter. Met the landed gentry, experienced doomed passion, dropped out.
1974-75 - Furniture salesman, Winchester. Joined the big wide world which turned out to be quite small.
1975-78 - English/Education, York University. Did a lot of everything here, developed interest in active left politics, caught an interesting illness which has buggered my health ever since.
Wrote first novel in long hot summer of 1976. It died.
1978-79 - Teacher training, Bretton Hall, Wakefield. Really loved education, just hated schools.
1979-80 - English/Drama teacher, Bretton Woods School, Peterborough. Read about this in 'Yatesy's Rap'. Painful but educational. Relieved of libertarian illusions.
1980 - Shoe salesman, Nottingham. My girlfriend was in Loughborough at the time, and the city had a big square in the middle, near an even bigger rock.
1981 - English teacher, Chilwell Comp, Nottm. Not so bad this time.
1982-84 - P/T Communications Lecturer, Broxtowe College. Writing seriously by now; first published story in 1984. Got agent on back of this.
1984-85 - Assistant Warden, International Community Centre, Nottingham. Got the old folks from the lunch club to do a play what I wrote.
1986 - First novel published, first tv play. Life didn't change.
1987 - Moved to Cardiff. Several failed novels, then started writing successfully for juniors. P/T community worker.
1990 - Wrexham library writer-in-residence. Bought first house in Adamsdown, Cardiff where I still reside. Became increasingly politically active.
1995-2000 P/T lecturer in Creative Writing, University of Glamorgan. Met current partner, Natalie, who's also banged out a few books when not working as online journo.
Currently writing, making music, activising, occasionally teaching.
All the rest is in my cv or on my own website.