Paul Carter

Born in the UK, Paul lived in a fairly rough part of Aberdeen, Scotland’s Oil Capital; his neighborhood was, on occasion, like a cold, wet version of Beirut. Most of the kids he hung around with were not the academic type, and neither was Paul; by the time he and his mates had all grown up, anyone who wasn’t drug-addicted hadn’t been charged with assault or done serious time was considered a high achiever.

At the age of 15, Paul moved to Perth, Western Australia, with his mum, who had secured employment working for an American Oil Company. This move was to change Paul’s life in so many ways. By the time Paul was 16, he was working on drilling tools (thanks to his Mother getting him his first job). At 18, he moved to land rigs and then offshore overseas in third-world countries at the age of 23. 

His formative years were spent largely trying not to get killed during a Coup, Jihad, Uprising, Insurrection, or flat-out War, all in the name of hydrocarbons. In 2001 he was tasked with a seven-year drilling campaign in Northern Russia. Securing that work post-9/11 involved a long and convoluted psychiatric evaluation that Paul promptly failed. Paul appealed, and a subsequent re-evaluation saw him pass. 

This was large due to a letter he wrote in his defense. This letter was later sent to a friend in Sydney (just for a laugh), who in turn sent it to another friend who works in publishing, and he was offered his first book deal with Allen and Unwin.

Paul Carter was discovered in 2005 by accident. His works are still on shelves today, now published globally in foreign languages, audio books & e-books. To his credit, he remains the same funny, often self-deprecating earth man and the nicest alpha male you’ll ever meet.