The author was born in Villena (Alicante) in 1961. He moved to Caudete (Castilla–La Mancha) at the age of seven, and lived between the two towns before moving to Valencia to study Philosophy. In 1990, he settled in Madrid and tried his luck in various trades before deciding to dedicate himself to writing. In 1999, he was shortlisted for the XXIII Azorín Prize for his first novel, The trial pits of Santa Librada, which was edited by Drácena in 2019. He is also known for In the shadow of Franco (2004) and Ifni: the war that silenced Franco (2006), as well as The Dance Choir (2006), the essay ‘Gaudí or the clamour of stone’ (Asimétricas, 2011) and the novel Stopper (2008). Drácena has also published Notebooks of an idle lover (2012), The pending accounts (2015) and A state crime (2017).