Stephen is a happily retired Police officer having served with Essex Police as a Constable for thirty years between 1983 and 2013\. He is married to Tanya who is also his best friend. Both of his grandfathers served in and survived the First World War, one with the Royal Irish Rifles, the other in the Mercantile Navy, whilst his father was a member of the Royal Army Ordinance Corp during the Second World War. Both his sons, Luke and Ross, were members of the armed forces, collectively serving five tours of Afghanistan between 2008 and 2013\. Both were injured on their first tour. This led to Stephen's first book; 'Two Sons in a Warzone - Afghanistan: The True Story of a Fathers Conflict', which was published in October 2010\. His teenage daughter, Aimee, currently attends one of the district's secondary schools. When he is not writing, Tanya and he enjoy the simplicity of walking their four German Shepherd dogs early each morning when most sensible people are still fast asleep in their beds.