Neil Grant was born in Scotland in the year of the Fire Horse. He graduated from the International School of Kuala Lumpur in 1985 and spent a large part of his adult life travelling and working in a variety of jobs, including instrument steriliser, forklift driver, banana picker, dishwasher and brickie's labourer. His long involvement with the ocean and the difficult business of struggling from boyhood to manhood (almost there) led him to write about these things. David Williams was Head of English at Diamond Valley College during the writing of this book.