Chandler, Glenn 1953–

PERSONAL: Born December 3, 1953, in Edinburgh, Scotland; son of Andrew (a professional musician) and Joan (Moy) Chandler. Ethnicity: "British." Education: Attended secondary school in Edinburgh, Scotland. Politics: "Anxious." Hobbies and other interests: Family history, hill walking, backpacking.

ADDRESSES: Agent—Diana Tyler, MBA Ltd., 62 Grafton Way, London W1T 5DW, England. E-mail—leavalleypress@yahoo.com.

CAREER: Writer. Creator of the television series Taggart, 1983.

WRITINGS:

Burning Poison (nonfiction), Lea Valley Press, 2000.

The Life and Crimes of William Palmer (television script), ITV Network (England), 2001.

A Is for Acid (television script), ITV Network (England), 2002.

The Brides in the Bath (television script), ITV Network (England), 2003.

Savage Tide (crime novel), Hodder & Stoughton (London, England), 2003.

Dead Sight (crime novel), Hodder & Stoughton (London, England), 2004.

Writer for the television series Taggart, c. 1983–99; also scriptwriter for episodes of other series, including Crown Court, Granada Television (England), and In Suspicious Circumstances. Also author of short stage plays.

WORK IN PROGRESS: Writing for television; research on death row in the United States.

SIDELIGHTS: Glenn Chandler told CA: "My primary motivation for writing is that I was hopeless at everything else at school except English! I made my first break in the theater circuit (London fringe) with a number of short plays. Harold Pinter was a great influence on me. Good, well-researched 'true crime' is also a great influence, for much of my fictional plotting sparks off from real-life events.;

"I start writing at 6:00 a.m. and finish at 2:00 in the afternoon-I have a life! Also, I feel fresher in the morning, and anything written by midnight oil will probably be in the wastepaper basket by morning.

"My inspiration for writing about crime came from an invitation by Granada Television to write for Crown Court in the seventies. I attended numerous famous murder trials and became hooked."