Mike Allaby has been writing all his life – it all began with a detective story, which he wrote aged seven in indelible pencil to give it permanence. In 1971, he published his first book about the birth of the environmental movement and he's been a full-time writer ever since. Popular science is his speciality and he is editor of several dictionaries for Oxford University Press and author of a dictionary of science for gardeners and a gardener's guide to weather for Timber Press. Michael takes pleasure in sharing the richness of the world around him, exploring the way things work and teasing out answers to his own questions. He still enjoys telling stories and although for the most part he's moved on from writing crime, enjoyed this foray into the dark underbelly of the plant world.
