Growing up, Dan Smith led three lives. In one he survived the day-to-day humdrum of boarding school, while in another he travelled the world, finding adventure in the padi fields of Asia and the jungles of Brazil. But the third life he lived in a world of his own, making up stories . . . Which is where some people say he still lives most of the time.Dan has lived in many places that inspire his writing - including Sierra Leone, Sumatra, northern and central Brazil. He's even lived in Spain and in the Soviet Union, but he's now settled in Newcastle with his wife and two young children to keep him on his toes. And, boy, do they keep him on his toes!Past jobs have varied from dishwasher extraordinaire (or, perhaps, just ordinaire), social security fraud (detecting it, not committing it), to working on giant-sized Christmas decorations, and a fistful of mundane office jobs, but throughout all of those things, he's always kept writing.Dan writes for both children and adults.