James Roy was born in the colony of New South Wales and was transported to the South Pacific as a young child, where he was raised by a family of kind-hearted missionaries. He managed to keep insanity at bay by storing his memories in a notebook, until such time as he was able to find his way back to New South Wales with the aid of a one-armed-fishing boat captain. Then, plagued by health, he turned to writing books for solace. He soon became known as a writer of high esteem, his first great success coming with Captain Mack, which won Honour Book in the 2000 Children’s Book Council Awards, and A Boat for Bridget, a Notable book in the same awards. He now lives in the Blue Mountains, and would be a recluse were if not for his wife, daughters, dog and sundry associates, whom he sees regularly. Ichabod Hart and the Lighthouse Mystery is his sixth book for young people
