He was educated at Waldorf school. He matriculated from South African College Schools in 1991 and completed a Bachelor of Commerce degree at the University of Cape Town in 1994. He qualified as a paragliding instructor and managed an active paragliding school in Cape Town. He worked in the film industry, and as a paragliding instructor in the UK. Upon returning to South Africa he began to write sports articles for various magazines, mostly to the international free-flying magazine . He also worked at the . His first novelBeyond The Invisible was published in 1998 by . This was followed by a non-fiction guidebook for Paragliding in South Africa, The Fresh Air Site Guide. His , The Tale of the Lifesong, began with The Riddler's Gift and continues with Second Sight.
Writing influences
He mentions that his writing comes to him visually, and on his website he lists The Matrix and The Lord of the Rings as having been particularly memorable films. His work shows elements of magical realism and has a vivid visual style. Although taking some inspiration from the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, he writes with a more contemporary approach similar to Robert Jordan and Terry Goodkind. In an interview he referred to Stephen Donaldson and Robin Hobb as having influenced his work, as well as the satirical Discworld novels of Terry Pratchett. In an interview he commented on his motivation to write: "For me it's a very personal joy. I really enjoy being in the mental state one reaches when writing creatively. It's a kind of meditation, and one I find invigorating. It feels that I'm wiser when writing than in the normal everyday world."
Paragliding
He began flying in 1992, and took part in world record attempts in 1994 and 2007 in the Challenge. He flew in the circuit in 1997. His passion for open-distance cross country flying has taken him to many countries around the world and seen him set site records in South Africa. His experience in exploration and bivouac flying led to the filming of , a collaboration with South African Hang-gliding Champion Johan Anderson, directed by extreme sports documentary film-maker Nic Good of the . This was followed by his directorial debut produced by Eternity Press in 2008.
