Chris has written much of this book from personal experience. Born in Stafford, England, he studied Archaeology and Fine Art at Edinburgh University. During the 1970s Chris worked on excavations in Italy, Cyprus, Turkey and Iran. His last excavation was at old Kandahar in Afghanistan, just before the Russian invasion. It is this excavation life that he has reworked into historical fiction. Chris discovered Australia after Kandahar, and moved there in 1978. Since then he has taught Ancient History, English and Philosophy in Brisbane. Along the way he completed post graduate diplomas in Russian (Strathclyde university in Glasgow), Teaching (London university) and a degree in Journalism (QUT in Brisbane). He has always thought of life as an adventure. So his gaining a black belt in Tae Kwon Do, and a stint of hang gliding, would come as no surprise. Life is so rich that one needs several lifetimes to catch a part of it. How does one limit oneself to one interest, one existence, when there is so much out there for the next challenge? The life and culture of the Middle East was fascinating and raw, a daily struggle for existence for those people that he worked with and has a huge respect for. The layers of culture there reflect the levels of existence on a site such as Kara Tepe. `Kara Tepe' is the first novel in a series involving the archaeological careers of Philip and Rosalind. The second is set in Cyprus, and the Crusades. The third is set in outback Queensland. The fourth, set in Afghanistan, is still to be written. After raising two sons, their greatest adventure, he and his wife now live in the hills north of Brisbane.