Michael Gouda was born and raised in London, England. He served in the RAF where, he claims, he lost his virginity. Then he went back to business. After a change of direction in his thirties, he left the world of commerce and entered that of education, becoming a teacher at a Comprehensive School in Worcestershire, England. Since retiring he lives in a limestone cottage in the Cotswolds with a neurotic Border Collie. He also writes under the name of Michael Duggan.