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Justin Somper wanted to be the fifth member of Abba or Wimbledon Champion when he was young. He says: "I drew a tennis net, and Bjorn Borg lurking behind it, in chalk on our garage wall and spent hours hitting a squishy ball against it. Sadly, such conscientious practice did not yield the desired results."

English was his favourite subject at school and he was always writing stories. He admits to being a bit of a swat at school but was "terrible at Physics and Chemistry, reduced to tears by Woodwork and pretty pants at sport". Among the things he says he couldn't live without are avocados, his mum's roast beef and trifle, his swimming goggles and disco music.

Justin worked in publishing for a number of years before setting up his own PR consultancy. Vampirates - Demons of the Ocean was his first novel. Drawing together the world of pirate history and vampire myth Justin did a lot of research while working on the novel and even had sword-fighting lessons to experience some of his characters' action-packed lives. Justin grew up in St Albans and now lives in north London.

His books include:

• Vampirates: Demons of the Ocean
• Vampirates: Tide of Terror