William Paterson, a journalist and author, was born of Scottish-Cornish parentage in Durban and grew up with his sister in an old colonial hilltop house, surrounded by virgin bush, with views of the Umgeni River and the Indian Ocean. He was educated at Michaelhouse, then the Durban School of Art in Natal and the University of Westminster, London. Upon his return to South Africa he spent most of his working life in the media. He is now settled with his Irish wife Patricia in Co. Wexford, Ireland, where he continues to write.