Born in Portlaoise, Ireland, Ray always loved stories. From the ones he heard from his grandfather, to the books he read as a child, borrowed each week from the local library.
A career with Ireland’s National Police Service, An Garda Síochána, mainly as a detective in Dublin, meant he documented real-life villains and events. During his police service, he learned to speak French, did a 15-month tour with the UN civilian police in Cyprus, and completed a Bachelor of Arts degree in European Studies with the Open University. From 2005 to 2010 he worked in Paris as Garda Liaison Officer for France and Monaco.
To hone his writing skills he took courses, workshops and attended seminars in Dublin. He collaborated with Lizzie Harwood, his Paris-based editor extraordinaire, on the manuscripts of his first two novels; an experience he described as more enlightening than a dozen writing retreats.
He is married to Eva and lives in County Laois in the Irish midlands.