Alan Temperley is a Geordie who left grammar school at sixteen and joined the Merchant Navy. He has sailed as deck officer, trawlerman and able seaman. After undistinguished National Service in the RAF, he studied at Manchester and Edinburgh Universities and went to teach English in the northern Highlands. This remains his spiritual home.

His first published work was poetry and short stories, for both of which he won national competitions. They have appeared in many anthologies.

His first book was TALES OF THE NORTH COAST (1977), a collection of oral tales from remote Sutherland which is still in print. It was followed by TALES OF GALLOWAY (1979) and MURDO'S WAR (1988), an award-winning teenage novel. In 1997 his children's story HARRY AND THE WRINKLIES was published. It was shortlisted for the Whitbread Children's Book of the Year and the Hachette Jeunesse edition won the Prix Chronos in 2001. It has also been made into a popular television series. Subsequent titles are RAGBOY, HUNTRESS OF THE SEA and THE BRAVE WHALE, all published by Scholastic Children's Books. An Arabian Nights style story, THE MAGICIAN OF SAMARKAND, was published by Macmillan at the beginning of 2003. HARRY AND THE TREASURE OF EDDIE CARVER, a sequel to HARRY AND THE WRINKLIES, will be published by Scholastic in 2004.

Alan lives in Hamilton, Scotland and enjoys English beer, Scottish country dancing, British wildlife and any day without rain.

Anahita is the beautiful, gentle daughter of the town's master saddlemaker. Everyone loves her but the prince particularly so, though both of them know the match can never be. Her life is disrupted when an evil magician falls in love with her and wants her to be his servant.