Noel 'Razor' Smith was born in London in 1960. He has 58 criminal convictions and has spent the greater portion of his adult life in prison. Whilst in prison he taught himself to read and write, gained an Honours Diploma from The London School of Journalism and an A-Level in Law. He has been awarded a number of Koestler awards for his writing and has contributed articles to the Independent, the Guardian, Punch, the Big Issue, the New Statesman and the New Law Journal. He is currently serving a life-sentence for armed robbery. A Few Kind Words and a Loaded Gun is his first book.

Noel 'Razor' Smith was born in London in 1960. He has 58 criminal convictions and has spent the greater portion of his adult life in prison. Whilst in prison he taught himself to read and write, gained an Honours Diploma from The London School of Journalism and an A-Level in Law. He has been awarded a number of Koestler awards for his writing and has contributed articles to the Independent, the Guardian, Punch, the Big Issue, the New Statesman and the New Law Journal. He is currently serving a life-sentence for armed robbery. A Few Kind Words and a Loaded Gun is his first book.