Alan Temperley was born in Sunderland and educated at the Bede Grammar School. Aged sixteen he joined the Merchant Navy and travelled the world as a cadet with the Shaw Savill Line. After qualifying as a deck officer he left the sea and spent two years in the RAF. Following this and a crash A Level course at Sunderland Technical College, he spent four years studying at Manchester and Edinburgh Universities and became a teacher of English in Bettyhill on the remote north coast of Sutherland.

Here he began writing, gaining first prize in national competitions for poetry and the short story. Several of his full-length works are set here, starting with Tales of the North Coast and a novel, Murdo's War.
He enjoyed teaching and life in the north, but after nine years felt he was becoming stale and returned to sea. Briefly he sailed as a trawlerman and able seaman on the oil rig supply boats, then went back deep-sea with Shaw Savill as a deck officer. This experience provided him with material for his most recent novel Deck Boy (his only self-published work).

Alan has published a dozen full-length books. His work has won awards, been televised, and widely translated.

In recent years he has lived in south-west Scotland with his good friend Jean Slaven. He has one son, Andrew, a successful young solicitor, and two grand-daughters. He enjoys the open air and wildlife, the arts, good TV, and spends much time in coffee shops.