Finlay John MacDonald - Fionnlagh Iain MacDhòmhnaill - was born on Harris in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. He spoke Gaelic at home, and started English when he went to primary school. His three books, Crowdie and Cream, Crotal and White, and The Corncrake and the Lysander detail his childhood growing up. Crowdie and Cream was also a series of talks on BBC Radio. He also had a long and successful career as a radio drama and talks producer, a television director, and also a writer and editor.