Gerard Murphy has worked in various roles in the IT industry for more than 30 years. He is a huge fan of all branches of Sci-Fi ever since he saw Star Trek on a black and white TV in Ireland at the age of 12. He subsequently discovered hard science fiction books by the likes of Robert Heinlein, Isaac Asimov, Larry Niven and others. He is also a big fan of fantasy, particularly Tolkien to which he was introduced by his then girlfriend Martine Cassidy. He was given a present of the book The Silmarillion by Martine’s mother Josephine on his 21^st birthday. He was fascinated by Tolkiens account of the creation myth and subsequent battles of the gods and in particular was entranced by the character of Yavanna and her love of trees and the speculative nature of the first trees on earth which were “tall towers reaching to the sky which have since diminished.” This led to the idea of impossibly large trees on another planet, and the seed of his debut novel The Inheritors: Journey to Vahana was planted. The other notion that prompted the direction of the story is his interest in the nature of consciousness, in particular with regard to quantum physics and the possibilities it presents. So they became intertwined and the story unfolded. It has taken a long time to get it completed and published, with many re-writes and edits. This is his first published novel.

Gerard lives in Trim, County Meath, Ireland with his wife Martine. They have 5 grown up children, and 9 grandchildren.