Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I have written five novels and a book of short stories. My first novel The Diary of an Innocent was written when I was living in Spain.
This book takes conspiracy theories from Moses right through to global warming; all told from the viewpoint of an ordinary person whose life it changed. The book reveals the way politics and organized religion have conspired to control the lives of ordinary people. Why did God threaten to destroy the world he had created, and what prevented him from doing so? Who indeed is God? Is the plan for mankind as straightforward as the Bible states, or is there a more sinister agenda? Why did the Vatican fund the `Rat Lines’ to help prominent Nazi’s escape? Who killed Pope John-Paul? These questions and many more are answered, as the world’s greatest conspiracy unfolds. It is told through the eyes of an ordinary man who finds the diary of a priest. What he discovers changes his attitude to life. The (verifiable) information feeding these theories will shock people into re-thinking what they are told by the barrage of influences bombarding their everyday lives.
My young adult book The Redemption came next.
Four teenage girls, one boy, and their swimming coach are trapped on a desert island, where the normal rules of living don’t apply. What will they do to survive? Are the rumours being spread about the coach, true? What else does he teach when he takes an individual on a hunting foray? Will Emma turn the tide of being bullied? Did one of the girls really fall to her death, or was she killed to cover up what was going on? This fast moving tale shows what can happen when the structure of society falls apart, old scores are settled and the innocent suffer.
I have always written Short stories and so I decided to put a few together with some anthologies and a chat around how they came to be written. Thus was born Different Eyes.
Often when we read a short story, we wonder about the surrounding events that placed the idea in the author’s mind. Over the years, I have written short stories to amuse close friends and relatives. Countless have been lost over the years but some of the old favourites remain. Different Eyes is a chat around the stories, to show where some of the ideas came from and how things can often change when viewed through another’s eyes. This book will make you laugh a lot, cry in places, but most of all it will show you life from a different perspective.
Having taught and raised my own children single-handedly, I wanted to use my books to help young minds understand the natural world, as well as helping them through the rites of passage into adulthood. The firs book in the series is Beyond Dark Waters.
From being cast out from the group to losing his way in the dark lake at night-time, Ben will never betray his friends. Even when he feels a vicious fang slowly piercing his flesh, he knows what he is doing is right. He will never submit to the bullies, racists or indeed anyone who tries to steer him from the path he is taking. Ben is growing up very quickly and soon he gains many followers. This leads to a multitude of challenges and to one of his friends giving his life for Ben. As an eleven-year-old, he manages to avert a war and bring pride to different communities. For Ben, falling into the lake and entering into different species presented many challenges, but the rewards will stay with him forever. Beyond Dark Waters plots a young man’s rite of passage into adulthood, seen from the viewpoint of different species in and around a lake.
Just to balance things, the second book, Above and Beyond Dark Waters has a young girl as the hero.
This is the second book in the Dark Water’s series. It sees Jane, a twelve-year-old girl who loved to read about superheroes, suddenly able to fly through the sky and rest on the rising thermals. However, Jane soon discovers that all creatures are affected by life’s challenges and she works hard to fit in and learn. After deciding she no longer wants to become a superhero, Jane is told that she is one already. Another tale charting the rocky road through the rite of passage into adulthood.
Writing for young minds can be exhausting, and sometimes I just need to let go and write something radical. Lamia is as far removed from YA writing as it is possible to get, but it bullied its way to the front of my mind and demanded to be written.
Excitement, graphic sex, and violence mark this tale of survival in the Colombian Andes. The story concerns a shy young girl called Maria who lives in Colombia with her missionary parents. She is kidnapped by the enforcers of the drug barons, gang raped, beaten and almost killed until her inner strength comes out in the guise of a mythical creature ‘the Lamia’. But survival was not enough. She exacts violent revenge on her abusers and builds an empire based on fear and gratitude; an empire in which she is queen and everybody must obey. She enjoys both men and women, often at the same time, until one mistake causes her empire to crumble. Her spirit lives on
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Beyond Dark Waters was inspired by my desire to teach young people about the natural world, and to help them during the difficult period of growing up.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I type one-handed on a computer, clutching a fossilized Megalodon (ancient shark) tooth in my left hand.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
The one and only William Shakespeare because of the viewpoint he takes when he describes something.
What are you working on now?
I am working on the third in the Dark Waters series, Somewhere Beyond Dark Waters. This book grows up the hero in the firs book. Instead of living life as a Quinling, his quests are now real. He faces the trauma of hi future being wiped away, arguing with his parents, the death of a loved one and ultimately his own death. His lessons as a Quinling help him to put his life back on track, even when he can see no future.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Since working with a professional (Toni Michelle), I realise that I know nothing about marketing.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Work hard and believe in your abilities. I just wish that I could follow this advice!
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Any time you give up is too early.
What’s next for you as a writer?
My aim is to get my Dark Waters series into every school. I have plans for other books in the series.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
The complete works of Shakespeare, Touching the Void, Into Thin Air, Jaws.
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