Chris G. Derrick was born and grew up in a small town situated between the cities of Bath and Bristol in the south west of the UK. Born in 1957 his favourite genre of film has always been the western. A birthday treat to watch The Magnificent Seven with some young friends when he was around six years of age no doubt had a hand in developing his life long appreciation of the Old West. After leaving school Chris started his working life as an accountant, with a short spell in HM Royal Marines in his early twenties. From the 1980's onwards he earned a living as an IT professional up until the end of March 2013. Chris's favourite part of the world happened to be the south western states of the USA - Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Utah and Nevada. He'd always enjoyed writing, creating a picture with words, and still maintained his affection for a good Western and the cowboy way of life. With this in mind Chris decided he'd combine these three things - and write a western himself set in those states of the USA.  The Tainted Dollar was written with a keen eye on Western history, and there are plans for other books to follow.  Each one will maintain Jake Base - if not as the main then certainly as a central character within each story. Jake Base - a US marshal, but one with a difference.