Born in an Australian country town, Jay Caselberg spent some of his childhood overseas with his family before studying Biochemistry, Psychology, History, and Philosophy of Science at Australian universities. He worked in the information technology industry after university, transferring to London and working all over the world. In 1996, he started writing full time as James A. Hartley. In 1998, he rejoined the IT industry while continuing to write as Hartley and Jay Caselberg. In 2010, he was living and working in Germany.