Who am I?
I love books! I love reading thrillers, sci-fi, fantasy and military history. And I love reading children’s book, to my daughter when she was the right age, but increasingly for my own pleasure. I spent most of my career as an economist in the city. Then a few years ago, I thought of a story and it wouldn’t let go. So I plotted and researched and tinkered. By then the idea of writing a novel had sunk it claws in and there was no letting go.
Finally I started to write. I attended the Faber Academy Course in 2014. Then I re-wrote that awful first draft. And re-edited. My debut novel, Blue Gold, came out in May 2017 thanks to the wonderful Matthew Smith at Urbane Publications. Its two sequels, Rose Gold and White Gold, came out in 2018-19, forming The Gaia Trilogy. The trilogy was re-released in late 2021 through Bloodhound Books.
I joined The Society for Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) in 2018 when my interests turned towards a younger audience and I won the July 2020 Slush-pile challenge. See details here. I have been working on numerous stories then. Pax & The Missing Head, published through Tiny Tree, was released in October 2023. This is the start of the London Falling series. The sequel, Pax & The Forgotten Pincher, published October 2024 and the final part will be released in 2025.
I give talks to inspire a love of reading and writing stories, about my publication journey and on water shortages in the context of climate change. I run workshops on specific aspects of writing. I have given talks in schools, libraries, U3A groups and even to the MSc students at Imperial College, London. A list of fees and testimonials is available on request. Do reach out if you would like to discuss any specific requirements.
I live in Berkshire with my wife and daughter. When I’m not writing or reading stories, I love to play tennis and golf, watch films or play board games. A small part of my collection of games is shown below.
I’m also an active member of my local amateur dramatics society (on and off stage) and have recently started writing pantomime scripts with my amazing picture-book-writing wife, Fiona. Together we’ve had two scripts published to date with another on its way. More details can be found on the Lazy Bee Scripts website.
