Michael was born in 1957, in Rotherham, and grew up in the once industrial heartland of South Yorkshire where he still lives with his wife and two sons.

He served as a police officer for thirty-two years, both in uniform and in plain clothes, working in CID, Vice Squad and Drug Squad, and retired in 2006 in the rank of Inspector, finishing his career in charge of a busy CID department.

He now writes and paints full-time in his studio.