Brought up in the Midlands, UK, Barry started his career as a composer and teacher. Eventually he taught people how to make noises on computers at degree level. Then, in 2018, his health took a tumble and he was forced to give up teaching. This left him with time to write stories. His first, The Child of Fire and Earth, started off as a story for his youngest kid. Since then, he now has far more ideas of stories than time to write them all.