Andrzej Ziemiański, also known as Patrick Shoughnessy (born 17 February 1960), is a Polish author of fantasy, science fiction, thriller and crime, who by 2012 have sold over 500,000 copies of his books.

The main protagonist of the series, Achaia, became synonymous with a certain type of female character and numerous readers identified with her.

However, his focus gradually changed and he wrote a mainstream novel Miecz Orientu, which was published in episodes in the prestigious Twórczość magazine.

Ziemiański returned to writing at the turn of the century instantly gaining fame and raising controversy.

His short stories, such as Bomba Heisenberga, Autobahn nach Poznań or Zapach szkła, would win first prize in popularity polls among readers, and two of them (Autobahn nach Poznań and Zapach szkła) won Janusz A. Zajdel Award.

During that time, the first part of Achaia (2002) trilogy was published and it quickly became the bestselling book at the main Polish chain bookstore, Empik.