Chris Bradford is an English author and black belt martial artist, best known for his children's fictional series, Young Samurai. The first Young Samurai book, The Way of the Warrior, was published by Puffin Books in 2008. Disney bought the rights in the same year and published in early 2009. Seven further books followed, with a ninth - The Return of the Warrior - being published for the series' tenth anniversary in 2018. In 2013, Bradford published the first book in his Bodyguard series, Hostage. The first book involves a young teenage bodyguard Connor Reeves assigned to protect the daughter of the US president. The second book, Ransom, was a Top Ten bestseller in the UK and followed Connor on a mission protecting twin daughters on a super-luxury yacht against Somali pirates. At an event in Abingdon in 2013, Bradford revealed that there are six books planned in the series, with an overarching conspiracy hinted at in the first book. Bradford has also written a number of books on the music business, including the critically acclaimed Heart & Soul: Revealing the Craft of Songwriting (Sanctuary, 2005). He regularly visits schools promoting literacy and giving martial arts demonstrations to students.