P. A. Thomas studied medicine in Newcastle, New South Wales, undertook specialist training in nuclear medicine at the Mayo Clinic in the USA, and now works as a specialist at a public hospital in Brisbane. He is also a wilderness landscape photographer: he has had many joint and solo exhibitions, and his images have appeared in Australian Geographic publication. He lives in the Byron Bay region, the setting for his first novel, The Beacon, and its sequel, The Sunbaker.