After doing a psychology degree at Durham, and a PhD at London in 1989, Paul joined BP. his main motivation was travel, and so with BP he worked and lived in Australia, Spain, Portugal and Japan. By 2002 they had 4 children, and decided to settle - emigrating to Australia in 2004. He started writing 'The Sweet Smell of Decay' in 1994 - during their first visit to Australia - and finished it in 2008. Between 1994 and 2008 he learned to write, and completely immersed himself in the history of the period. The sequel to 'Sweet Smell', 'A Plague of Sinners' was published in May 2010.