Fred Archer was born on a farm in 1915 in the Vale of Evesham in Worcester, England. He was a farmer for half a century before being asked by his local guild to give a talk as a replacement speaker. Embarrassed, but undeterred, Fred wrote a humorous story and read it out - word for word. He received laughter and applause from his friends and neighbors and that was motivation to continue writing. In 1967 Fred's first book, The Distant Scene, was published. Over the next three decades, Fred wrote almost a book a year, eventually settling with local publishers Sutton. Within his pages are fun and folly, the blue skies of hope and storm clouds of war, cider and village sweethearts, and characters so real that even an Archer pseudonym didn't always disguise their origin.