Joseph O'Connor was born in Dublin. He has written thirteen books, including six novels: Cowboys and Indians, Desperadoes, The Salesman, Inishowen, Star of the Sea, which became an international bestseller, winning the Irish Post Award for Literature, and American Library Association Award, France's Prix Millepages and the Prix Madeleine Zepter for European Novel of the Year and, most recently, Redemption Falls. His work has been published in twenty-nine languages.