Born in Llanrwst in north Wales, where his family had close connections, Martin Davis was brought up in Stratford-upon-Avon, England, but spent long periods on holiday with his family in the Porthmadog area during his childhood. He has lived for many years now near Machynlleth in mid-Wales where he works as a freelance translator and writer. In addition to his fiction and poetry, he has written for television and radio, as well as for children.

Os Dianc Rhai (Should Some Escape) is a family saga spanning three generations and three countries, moving between Wales, Oxford and Germany during the Second World War. Tonnau Tryweryn is set against the background of the furore surrounding the drowning of a valley and dislocation of its Welsh-speaking community to provide for the city of Liverpool during the 1960s. Broc Rhyfel (Dealers) published by Y Lolfa in 2014 takes the reader into the darker corners of modern Europe, from the war-torn Balkans to the present abuse and exploitation of women.