Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I was born in London, England at a very early age! My first musical memories are hearing Count Basie on my dad’s gramophone. At the age of 7 I saw the band on TV with drummer Rufus Jones and my life direction was set – A gift of a snare drum – and every spare minute from then on was taken up with practice. Culminating with my first paying gig at the age of twelve!
Many hours of practice and performance later, at the age of 15 I quit school and joined the band Rare Amber. The next year was spent driving up and down the motorways of England playing at clubs across the country – 5 musicians, a roadie, and the band’s equipment packed into a transit van.
Following a trip to Germany – 2 weeks playing 7 hours a night – not only pulled the band together, but also ensured they all lost weight, as we never got paid and spent the whole 2 weeks surviving on jam sandwiches! Returning to England a contract was signed with Polydor and the band went into the studio to record our first album. Sessions were from 9am to 1pm – at 2pm The Who came in to work on the album “Tommy”.
Soon after the release of the album, with rising debt, mounting internal dissension and management problems the band broke up. With no promotion and no band to support it the album quickly disappeared, only to later become a collector’s item with copies selling for as much as 350 Euros.
Upon leaving the band I moved into recording and producing, first at Phillips and then at Decca, working with Artists as diverse as Dusty Springfield, Ben Webster, ELO, and Pink Floyd.
After a short stint in Africa engineering and producing the album BLO – Step Three, I moved to Canada. My first production in Canada was the Juno nominated, “Gold” album Black Noise by the band FM. Soon followed by recordings with Oscar Peterson, Pat Metheny, Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Marc Jordan, Doug Riley Roberta Flack and many of the US and Canada’s finest jazz and pop musicians.
Moving into the 90’s I continued to work as a producer and also founded 2 groups – The Gospel Project and Kaleefah. Kaleefah performed with Celine Dion and Billy Preston. Their album “Listen to the World” was later nominated for a Juno.
With the turn of the new century I expanded my creative vision writing and producing my own material, including 3 musicals. I produced the Classic Jazz Album of the Year “Stride” featuring Doug Riley, Tyler Yarema, and John Roby, wrote and photographed “The Adventure Guide to Barbados”, and completed my first novel “Always: You’ll Never Walk Alone”. I also wrote for and edited 2 magazines – Macedonian Life and Whitesand.
I am currently working on the books “Jazz Voices” and “Obsession In Paradise”, writing and producing music for Dreams & Lullabies.com, composing music and doing sound design for the plays “Tightrope Theme” and “Living Curiosities”, writing and co-writing songs with an array of jazz musicians for an album of Jazz Lullabies, and working on producing my musical “Somewhere For Me”.
In my spare theme I have crewed on a racing yacht, attained the rank of second-degree black belt in Karate, and run the Toronto Marathon.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
“Always” is a quadrology! It takes place in 4 different lifetimes, and is based on a series of past-life regressions I undertook. It is the story of a woman I met in each of those lifetimes.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Not that I can think of!
What authors, or books have influenced you?
My early influences were Charles Dickens and Thomas Hardy. Later influences were Edwidge Danticat, John LeCarre, and John Irving
What are you working on now?
I am currently working on two musicals, “Stride” and “Somewhere For Me”. An online magazine The Cat Mag (entirely written by cats!) And a collection of jazz lullabies.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Don’t really have a favourite Just try to get to as many Facebook pages and review sites as possible.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Never give up!
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Never give up!
What are you reading now?
“Solomon Gursky Was Here” by Mordechai Richler, and “The Stand” by Stephen King
What’s next for you as a writer?
Just trying to write every day
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?
There are so many books I’d need a whole library!