Born in England and educated at Oxford, I have lived in the United States since 1980. I've worked as a teacher, guitarist, soccer coach, writer, editor and, most recently, woodcarver of endangered alphabets. I've been lucky enough to be able to write about whatever has interested me, which has included books about asthma, hospice, my gravel driveway, the guitar, SARS, commuting, hitch-hiking, polio, writing, publishing, and, most recently, endangered alphabets. I have two wonderful daughters, of whom I'm immensely fond and proud. I live on the shores of Lake Champlain.