ARTHUR ADAMS, the author, was born in Liverpool, England, the sixth child in a family of fourteen. Educated in one of the top Merseyside Grammar Schools, he spent the first years of his working life as a Purser in the British Merchant Navy. He came to Australia in 1967 and worked as a Public Service Officer in the New South Wales Police Department until he decided on an early retirement in 1990. He held senior positions in the Traffic Branch, the Public Relations Branch and as the Department's Accountant. He has also worked in various Police Stations in Sydney and other parts of the State. This, his first novel, was made easier because of his past experiences. In his younger days he was an active participant in a wide range of sports and represented England against a number of Continental teams in soccer. Since his retirement he has started playing golf, and enjoys a competition on average twice a week. He writes this novel, Thanks a Million, by way of a challenge and now intends to continue writing as a new-found hobby. For the majority of his life in Australia, he has lived in the Blue Mountains area, west of Sydney.