Leroy Thompson has trained and advised military and police special-operations units around the world, focusing especially on the tactical use of firearms.

He has previously had more than 50 books published, and appeared as a weapons expert on documentaries for Discovery, National Geographic and the BBC. He lives in Missouri, USA.

Johnny Shumate began his career in 1987 after graduating from Austin Peay State University, and now works as a freelance illustrator. Most of his work is rendered in Adobe Photoshop using a Cintiq monitor. His greatest influences are Angus McBride, Don Troiani and Edouard Detaille. He lives in Tennessee.

Born in Malaya in 1949, Alan Gilliland studied photography/film and architecture, and spent 18 years as the graphics editor of The Daily Telegraph. He now writes, illustrates and publishes fiction as well as illustrating for a variety of publishers. He lives in Lincolnshire, UK.