Mark Batey was born and raised in Newcastle upon Tyne. As a student at Pembroke College, Cambridge, he chaired the college film society, and after five years in advertising, he forged a career in the film industry. This included three years at the BFI and two decades running FDA, the trade association for UK film distributors-the pivotal companies that acquire, promote and release films to audiences. He wrote stories from his childhood. Throughout his career in film, he scripted articles, speeches and reports, and is thrilled now to be creating longer-form narratives. His first book was Grace, the life story of Northumberland's sea-rescue heroine, Grace Darling. It was reviewed in The Ambler (in Northumberland) as "well-researched, informative, exciting and complete" and attracted further five-star write-ups. His second book, Warbird, told of a Nazi plot to destroy the radar system giving early warning of hostile aircraft to RAF pilots in the Battle of Britain. ThePursuitofBookiness.co.uk called Warbird "a masterpiece of historical fiction... had me enraptured." It was followed by Starfish, a contemporary espionage thriller unfolding in Berlin and the UK. He divides his time between Northumberland and London.