Ray Norris is a British and Australian astrophysicist whose day-job is spent at the edge of the Universe. He also researches Australian Aboriginal astronomy, and the astronomy of British Bronze-age stone circles.
At high school, he had two passions: physics and literature. Sadly, you have to choose one or the other to make a career. Ray chose physics, and has spent most of his life trying to understand how the Universe evolved from the Big Bang to the present day.
On turning 50, he decided to try out his other potential career path, and wrote his first novel, Graven Images.
To research it. Ray learnt from modern-day Wiccans, connecting their beliefs to his knowledge of ancient astronomy, encapsulated in the stone circles and megaliths of Britain. An atheist himself, but fascinated by other people's beliefs, he was amazed to find how this ancient pagan religion is still deeply but secretly engrained across the strata of modern British society.
As well as over 300 professional publications, Ray frequently appears on radio and TV, and performed in a stage show called "The First Astronomers". For relaxation, he walks the moors of Dartmoor and the Australian bush, and writes.