Bob Low has been a journalist and writer since the age of 17. At 19, he was in Vietnam covering aspects of the war and, after 18 months of it, swore he would never do anything as stupid ever again. Since then, he has earned his living as a writer safely in Scotland, with occasional lapses of judgement taking him to Sarajevo, Romania and Kosovo until common-sense and the concerns of his wife and daughter prevailed.

To satisfy his craving for action and couple it to an obsession with ancient warfare, he took up riding, horse archery and, latterly - having moved to an area rich in Viking tradition took up re-enactment, joining The Vikings. He now spends summers fighting furiously in helmet and mail in shieldwalls all over Britain and winters training hard.