Malcolm Wheatman was born in 1931 near Kendal, Cumbria. His unremarkable schooling led to a happy life as a hand compositor. In those early days he worked with equipment Caxton would have been familiar with, such as the ancient Columbian press now in the Abbot Hall Museum, Kendal. After the war when petrol was still rationed and there was no TV or evening country buses he began a small cinema circuit bringing Hollywood and Ealing to eight Westmorland village halls. It ran for ten years. He attained an ALCM in 1948 and for a time taught the pianoforte before completing two years National Service with the RAF. He was married in 1957. In 1966 his typesetting life moved to Buckinghamshire which culminated with several years working with computers. He was made redundant in 1993 when he began writing. After having two plays performed and articles published he was invited to be Theatre Critic for The Bucks Herald newspaper which led to his appointment as a local authority Creative Writing Tutor. He was a prominent member of The Chiltern Writers Group, Wendover, a popular area for professional writers and actors. He now compiles crosswords when not writing. He and his wife returned to Kendal in 1999. Their elder son now lives in France with his wife and their two daughters, and his younger son lives in Preston with his partner and their four children.
