The first money he ever made out of writing was in 1974 when he was co-winner of a short story competition held by what was then Australia's leading cultural celebration, the Adelaide Arts Festival.
As a freelance journalist in the 1970s and 1980s, while alternating between living in Sydney and London, his articles and fiction appeared in a wide range of magazines, newspapers and anthologies, including The Australian Financial Review.
His books include: Thailand: Deadly Destination, Terror in Australia: Workers' Paradise Lost, Hideout in the Apocalypse and the soon to be re-released Hunting the Famous.
As a news reporter, Stapleton encountered and wrote many hundreds of stories about everyone from street alcoholics to Australian Prime Ministers; from the staple flood, drought, fire and natural disasters of the Australian bush to scenes of urban dysfunction.
In 2000 he became co-founder of the world's longest running radio program on father's issues, Dads on the Air.