Chris Walley was born in Wales in 1954 but grew up in northern England. He studied geology at university, gaining a B.Sc. from Sheffield University and a Ph.D. from University of Wales, Swansea. He taught at the American University of Beirut (AUB) in Lebanon from 1980-84, where Chris met his wife and where his two boys were born.

From 1984-94, he was based in Swansea, where Chris
was a consultant for the oil industry. He did fieldwork in a number of African and Asian countries and wrote numerous synthesis volumes on the geology of different countries. In the late eighties, he began writing in his spare time. Chris had two novels, Heart of Stone and Rock of Refuge, published under the pseudonym of John Haworth.

In 1994, Chris was asked to return to Lebanon to rebuild the Department of Geology at AUB and they were there as a family from 1994-1998. During that time Chris not only taught and did research but was also involved in setting up a large environmental project in the Bekaa with A Rocha Lebanon.

In 1998, they returned to the UK to find a dearth of geology jobs. As a result he began to make a new career in writing and editing, in particular for the Christian market. Chris retained his geological interests, however, and led field trips for Wheaton College, Illinois.

In September 2004 he started teaching again, geology and geography, at Gorseinon College on the edge of Swansea. Chris now teach there full-time.

Chris and his wife live in an old cottage on the edge of Swansea and are very much involved in Pantygwydr Baptist church. Chris' sons, John and Mark, occasionally find time to visit them.