Michael A. Duffy

Born in the North West of England in the days of black and white tellies, cassette players and paper maps, Michael A. Duffy’s formative years were shaped by the cobbled streets and dour characters of a grim Lancashire Mill town. No wonder he grew up to be so miserable! Luckily, this trait was balanced by a cutting Northern sense of humour, which today means at least his novels are likely to make you smile. Occasionally.

When he became old enough he escaped off to Merseyside to watch his favourite footy team, Liverpool FC, where he was mugged by an old skinhead at Kirkdale Station. So he decided to try life in late Seventies Manchester instead. There, he wasn’t mugged, but became heavily involved in the indie music scene. Playing in bands and writing for both national and local music magazines meant he didn’t have much time or inclination for studying. That’s why, on graduating, he became a teacher – as nobody else would have him.

Later on in life he found himself back in Liverpool, having calculated that the old skinhead that mugged him as a teenager would by then be probably dead. There he got involved in internet marketing because nobody else yet knew about it and so couldn't tell if he was talking b*llocks or not!

Meanwhile, soaking up all the colourful characters that drifted in and out of his life in both Lancashire and Merseyside, he had the brilliant brainwave to shamelessly steal all their fascinating characteristics to put into fictional stories. Therefore making loads of money! Well, so far, he did steal those characters – but up to now the loads of money thing is not quite there.

A kind of semi-retired, ‘good-for-nothing, sofa sloth’ these days (quote: Mrs Duffy), he now dabbles in creating humorous fiction and looking up health conditions and ailments on Google. He lives in a pleasant and rural part of Lancashire – away from the mills and terraced streets - with his wife, Sue. Both are occasionally visited by their grown up kids - none of whom wish to listen to Michael's later life singer-songwriting efforts, nor indeed hear him wax lyrical about his next novel idea. You know, the one that's sure to be the Next Big Thing!

His later life ambition is to become a successful author who is not a celebrity. So, as you can see, in this day and age, he is very much a dreamer!