Fantasy author Dave Duncan was born in Scotland in 1933. He graduated from the University of St. Andrews in 1955 and moved to Canada. He worked for 31 years as a geologist in the petroleum industry. He started writing novels in 1984 and became a full-time author in 1986. He has written over 30 novels including the series The Seventh Sword, A Man of His Word, and A Handful of Men. He has also written under the names Sarah B. Franklin and Ken Hood.