Deborah Challinor is a writer and a historian. She was born and raised in 1959 in Huntly, New Zealand, and attended Waikato University where she completed an M.A. with First Class Honours in history in 1994, and a Ph.D in New Zealand military history in 1998. She is the author of the bestselling ‘Children of War’ fiction trilogy (Tamar, White Feathers and Blue Smoke) as well as a string of historical novels including Band of Gold. Deborah has written a number of non-fiction titles, including two about Vietnam vets: Who’ll Stop the Rain and Grey Ghosts.