Matthew Allen-Johnson was born in Champaign, Illinois. He is a self-proclaimed shut-in who spends most of his time reading and writing. He enjoys science-fiction, fantasy, and the days of yore. Johnson also likes collecting old music from the 1920s through the 1960s. He also loves movies, especially the bad ones. Perhaps because his grandfather was a detective, he has always had an inclination towards crime stories and police procedurals. In a way, this novel is something of a subconscious marriage between his love of Anglo-Saxon history and a fewepisodes of "Columbo."