Duncan Ball was born in 1941 in Boston, Massachusetts in the USA, one of three children. His family lived in the suburbs of Boston, but then moved to Anchorage, Alaska, where they stayed for four years. Later, when Ball was a teenager, his family moved to Madrid, Spain for three years. When Ball was a teenager he became interested in painting and drawing. Ball finished high school in America and then got a job and saved money up to travel. He went to Paris, France, and started a university course. After a year though, he ran out of money and had to move back to America again. There he got another job while studying Mathematics and Chemistry. Ball moved to Sydney in 1974 and worked as an… Industrial Chemist, doing chemical research. He continued to paint and write in his spare time. He wrote a novel for adults and, later, got a job as the editor of the School Magazine at the Department of Education of New South Wales. There he learned much about children's books and realised that that was what he truly wanted to write. After a few years Ball quit his job and started writing full-time.