Frank was born and grew up in the fish dock area of Hull where much of his novel is set. He was the first member of a large working class family to go to university. He graduated from both Hull and Leeds Universities. He is married with 4 children who are all graduates.

After a career in higher education teaching business and management Frank returned to East Yorkshire where he worked in Hull’s local history library. He has written several published articles on local history.  The subject matter of most of these articles could be categorised as the ‘scandals and scoundrels of East Yorkshire’.  It is his belief that history is something we should learn from and not be held as its prisoner.

Frank has made several long visits to western Canada. One included travelling as far north as the Klondike in the Yukon.  While over there he met First Nations’ people including sharing a campfire. However, it was toasted marshmallows that were passed around rather than a pipe.

In his younger days Frank played football at an undistinguished level before going on to become a referee. He supported Hull City AFC for over 50 years and chaired the Tigers Co-operative during its transformation into the Hull City Supporters’ Trust.  He was actively involved in the successful campaign to preserve the football club’s name.  He has been active for forty years in politics around the country standing several times in council elections.