Hi, I'm Kate Wild. I live in Leicester, which is a bit unfortunate for someone like me who loves the sea. Leicester is about as far away from the coast as you can get in the UK. In the past I made up for this by living on the tiny island of Malta. Most people know it as a holiday island, but beneath the touristy veneer, it's a strange and haunting place. I think my fascination with the weird and mysterious side of life began in the neolithic temples of Malta.

I've got two sons. One's in the media, and one's still at school. My partner Henri is a designer & video producer. All of us, plus friends get together as the Source of All Evil Clan, and play Soldier of Fortune2, an online multiplayer combat game. My favourite weapon? The AK47.

I've always wanted to write, and got my first chance writing scripts. Some of them were aimed at teenagers, such as Split Second about Gun Crime, and the Sussed CDRom about violence and bullying. Having dabbled in martial arts myself, I began to get interested in survival skills and self defence.

In 1996 my artist friend and I began writing and filming documentaries about gypsies and travellers. The filming was exciting, rewarding and sometimes tricky. Whilst filming two boys whose great uncle was a fighter called the Gypsy King, I had an idea for a story about a traveller boy and fighting.

This, and my fascination with the weird and fantastic elements of life culminated in my hero, Freedom Smith and his adventures into the hidden world of violence, strange beliefs and chaos that lurks beneath the world we know.

If you want to read more about me, click here