John Stephen Raynor was born in Oldham, Lancashire, during nineteen forty four and was  the second of three children born to Alan and Betty Raynor.  At the age of two, John was found to have a serious eye condition, Retinitis Pigmentosa, which would eventually lead to blindness.  He was a sickly child and at the age of 8, lived apart from his family in the seaside town of Fleetwood, Lancashire, where it was thought that the environment may be beneficial.  There was an improvement in his health and he returned to his family after nine months.  As a rebellious ten-year old, he ran away to the friends he had made in Fleetwood, but suffered the wrath of his father who brought him home.  Although his education improved while at school in Fleetwood, his standard was not high enough to pass the eleven-plus examination. He attended Hathershaw Technical High School, where he developed an interest in mathematics and science.
           
At 15, John wanted to leave school and start a career in electronics at Ferranti in Hollinwood.  He failed the entrance examination and instead ended up as a junior draughtsman at a local architectural practice, Tom Hayes and Company.  In nineteen sixty five he moved to Oldham Borough Architects, where he met Marie, who became his wife two years later.  Since he left school without any qualifications, he studied in the evenings and passed 5 ‘O‘ levels.  He then took a 4 year sandwich course at the College of Building in Manchester, where he qualified as an architectural technician.  He gained employment in the architects’ department at the North West Regional Health Authority.

John and Marie moved to Prestwich in Manchester, where they had a son, Mathew, in nineteen seventy one.  It was around this time, that John developed an interest in writing fiction.  He was successful in a short story competition, which inspired him to keep writing in his spare time.  While working at the Health Authority, John continued his interest in electronics when asked to study computer programming for the department.  He soon became a highly proficient programmer, developing applications for architects, engineers and quantity surveyors and was promoted to the position of computer co-ordinator.
           
In nineteen seventy eight he formed his own computer company, Computential.  Two years later, he became self-employed and spent long hours building up his business, finding new clients.  In nineteen eighty three the family moved to Sale in Cheshire, where he continued to build up his business.  Sadly, the work took its toll on his marriage and the couple separated in nineteen eighty nine.  His business was thriving, but this was a difficult time, when he suffered a mid-life crisis.  During this emotionally-charged period, he wrote a number of short stories, two of which were broadcast on Greater Manchester Radio.  Unhappy with his solitary lifestyle, he began looking for a new person in his life.  In nineteen ninety one he thought he had found the right woman, but after sixteen traumatic months the relationship ended. 
           
John travelled abroad and soon made friends in several countries, but it was the Philippines where he found his soul-mate.  He married Aleth in nineteen ninety three, but soon discovered problems in bringing her back to the United Kingdom as a result of British immigration restrictions.  Eventually, he succeeded and in December, nineteen ninety four their son, James was born, just one month after they returned to the U.K.  John wrote an autobiographical account of their immigration problems called, “Who wants to be British, anyway?”  His happiness was complete when Aleth gave birth to their daughter, Kimberley in nineteen ninety nine.  The rich culture of the Philippines, together with facts from his wife’s traumatic childhood, provided John with a wealth of material for his novel, ‘A Comfortable Death’ which took eight years to write.

John has been registered blind since the age of 35 and relies on his computer with speech synthesis for both software development and creative writing.