William was born in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England in 1948 and attended a local Grammar School, until he began his legal studies at Leeds University in 1967, where he successfully obtained a Law Degree in 1970. He later qualified as a solicitor, running his own practice for over twenty-five years, before retiring in 2002 to concentrate on a literary career.

During his time as practicing lawyer, William became a respected criminal advocate, dealing with several high profile cases, which have provided him with plenty of real life material to form the backbone of his fiction writing....