Born and raised in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, William Allan graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree from McMaster University and a Bachelor of Journalism degree from Carleton University’s School of Journalism.
He moved west and started a career with newspapers that lasted nearly 30 years. Most of that time was spent at The Leader-Post, the daily newspaper in Regina, Saskatchewan.
He retired in 2008 and lives with the love of his life Abby Ulmer and their cat Toby in Regina.
William self published his first book, Four Murders in a Small Town, a short fictional crime story, in 2016.
William followed that up later in 2016 with How to Self Publish Inexpensive Books and Ebooks, which he wrote after his trial and error ordeal getting his first book printed and sold. He wanted to help first-time authors avoid that and help them choose a publisher and sell their books within their budget. He also researched the many printers and publishers in order to expand his second book beyond just his own experience.
In early 2018, William wrote Justice Preserved, a collection of 12 fictional crime stories.
He also wrote and published, in spring 2018, a fully updated U.S. edition of his second book to try to help American first-time authors get published and sell their books.
In March 2020, William wrote and published an ebook that was a revised second edition of his U.S. Edition.