Will Gallows and the Snake-Bellied Troll is Derek's debut novel for children although, previously, he has published several educational books. He began writing in 2000 as a new millennium resolution and hasn't looked back. Currently, he has a thriving schools program, storytelling and taking creative writing workshops around local schools. He lives in Northern Ireland with his wife, Elaine, who is Canadian, and has twin daughters, Sarah-Jane and Rebekah.

"With an epic journey, dramatic setting and a host of terrifying monsters, there's a thrill on every page." Booktrust, Richard and Judy Book Club "Like Eoin Colfer, Derek Landy and Garret Carr, it is full of Irish wit, dystopian vision and musicality, merging three genres (SF, hard-boiled detective story and the Wild West) within a children's novel. Extremely funny and utterly bonkers." The Times "I can't remember a book that so successfully merges two completely different genres so convincingly, and engagingly ... I can easily recommend it." -- John Lloyd TheBookbag.co.uk "A romping cowboy story with a difference, this is entertaining, action pack adventure set in a richly imagined fantasy world." -- Julia Eccleshare Lovereading "Selected for the Blue Peter Book Club" Blue Peter Book Club