Bill James is a former journalist who worked for the Western Mail and South Wales Echo, The Daily Mirror and the Sunday Times. He is the author of the Harpur and Iles crime series, which are published all over the world. Protection, the fourth in the series, was televised by BBC 1 as Harpur and Iles, starring Hywel Bennett. Hollywood is currently negotiating for Halo Parade, number three.

James lives in his native South Wales and divides his time between his home near Cardiff and a caravan on the Pembrokeshire coast. He also writes under the name David Craig, most recently a series set around Cardiff docks, where he grew up. The Warner Brothers film, The Squeeze, with Stacy Keach, Edward Fox and Carol White was adapted from the David Craig novel, Whose Little Girl Are You? He is married with four children. At present he is working on a sequel to Split, again featuring Simon Abelard. James is a part-time tutor in creative writing at the University of Wales, Cardiff.