CRITICS have praised Mark Chadbourn for the astonishing detail and realism he brings to his novels. The reason: the kind of research most people would go out of their way to avoid. For his first novel Underground, set in an isolated mining community, he worked hundreds of feet beneath the earth, crawling along tunnels barely two feet high, experiencing the same kind of brutal lifestyle as his coal miner characters.

For Nocturne, his second novel set in New Orleans, he spent time in the seedy underbelly of the Crescent City, meeting the criminals, the black magicians, the voodoo practitioners, the members of the secret Krewe societies, and mingled with the next generation's rising jazz stars. For his fourth novel, Scissorman, he viewed an autopsy and spent time among the Boiler Room sharp operators of London's financial district. And for his non-fiction book Testimony, Mark experienced the terrors of a real haunted house…

His current fantasy trilogy, The Age of Misrule (World's End, Darkest Hour and Always Forever) has received acclaim not only for its detail, but also for its academic research. An expert on British Folklore, Mark also studied volumes of research on prehistoric Britain, including the sites of Stonehenge, Avebury and Tintagel, as well as Celtic culture and neolithic life. He spent six months on the road touring Britain, mapping out a detailed path for his characters to follow, including not only famous historical sites, but also industrial estates, pubs, cafes, shopping centres and more. It's possible to use these three volumes as a travel guide to the UK.

But that's not the only attraction. World's End was nominated for the prestigious August Derleth Award for Best Novel, as was Nocturne, and Mark has also been nominated for the British Fantasy Society's Best New Talent award. His career took off when he won Fear magazine's Best New Author award for his first published short story, 'Six Dead Boys In A Very Dark World'.

His penchant for gritty research began when he was a journalist, working for British national newspapers, magazines and TV. On NATO manoeuvres inside the Arctic Circle, Mark slept in tents with the British soldiers in temperatures of -20°C, fired bazookas and drove tanks across the snowy wastes. He was also set on fire by an exploding lamp - and saved by a nearby snow drift.

While investigating the criminals who control the antiques trade in the UK, he was locked in a shop and threatened by gangsters, rescued only by a colleague who raised the alarm. On other occasions he has been at the centre of a riot, accompanied a Formula 1 racer at 250 mph around Donington racetrack, and he has gone undercover investigating criminal activity across Europe and America.

When he was researching a movie script, he was invited to spend time with America's controversial tabloid The National Enquirer, a trip that ended with him being shot at it in the Californian desert.

He has interviewed scores of celebrities - from Paul McCartney, Bob Geldof and Elton John to Tim Burton, Catherine Zeta Jones and George Michael - and has also worked in the media as a film and TV reviewer. Outside of journalism, he's cleaned toilets, driven vans, worked as a fitter's mate at a power station, and put Marmite jars on a conveyor belt.

During the early nineties, Mark's long-standing love of music saw him turn to managing bands - including one top five act - and running the independent record company, Faith.

Mark hails from the Midlands and a long line of miners. He now lives in the heart of a forest where he indulges his passions for environmental campaigning and magic.