David George Clarke

A former forensic scientist and Hong Kong Government Chemist, I studied for my bachelor's and doctorate degrees in chemistry at the University of Nottingham, after which I joined the West Midlands Forensic Science Laboratory in Birmingham, England.Hong Kong After three years of learning the nuances of the trade, I followed an ambition to work overseas by taking a post as a forensic scientist in the Hong Kong Government Laboratory. The lure and excitement of the Far East proved very strong and twenty-eight years later I was still there, retiring eventually as Hong Kong’s last expatriate Government Chemist in 2004.Tuscany From Hong Kong, my wife, the children’s book author and illustrator Gail Clarke, and I moved to the wilds of Tuscany where we set about taming our three acres of land. At the same time, we took steps to improve our Italian and I also embarked on a course of study and work experience in art restoration.… and everywhere However, we found we still missed many aspects of the Far East. Having decided there was no reason why we couldn’t embrace both Italy and the Far East while still pursuing our writing, we now share our time largely between Tuscany and ThailandInspiration As a forensic scientist, my caseload covered a wide range of crimes, including homicides, kidnappings and fire investigations, the work often starting at a crime scene and finishing with the presentation of expert evidence in court. This background and my more recent forays into the world of art restoration were drawn on extensively in writing the Dust of Centuries Trilogy, the Cotton & Silk Thrillers and the stand-alone thrillers An Imperfect Revenge & A Legacy of Murder.I am also the author of a non-fictional work, Hong Kong Under The Microscope, an account of the one hundred and twenty-five-year history of the Hong Kong Government Laboratory from 1879-2004.