Greg Lyons was five weeks old when his parents brought him to live in an oil camp in El Monte, a jungly savannah near the Orinoco River in Venezuela. The adventures of Avery are an embellishment of his life as a boy there! After leaving Venezuela, Greg lived in Ecuador, Bolivia, Iran, and also California, where he read for a degree in earth science. Greg loves football and once even played professional football against Diego Maradona's team from Argentina. He has worked in the oil business for many years, travelling to Russia, North Africa, the Middle East and his beloved Latin America. Greg is now a full-time writer and lives in Washington. He has three sons.