Welcome.
I was brought up on a hill farm on the very edge of the Peak District National Park. I remember the bleak winters of my childhood, snow blown into one massive drift against the front of the farmhouse so that we had to dig our way out, using the coal shovel. Broken electricity wires, brought down by the icy build-up, meant we cooked on a single coal fire, candles lit. I broke icicles off the inside of the windows of my bedroom.
The farmhouse had no bathroom or running water. An outhouse and an old stone trough stood in for WC and taps. I remember water sloshing against my legs from a metal bucket as I carried the pail back into the house. When the trough froze, we collected snow and boiled that. I still find taps magical.
Not surprisingly, all this reality gave me an inexhaustible taste for fiction! I made up stories as a child, to tell my brother in the quiet time before we fell asleep. Later, I wrote short stories, radio plays, even a film script. Life - work, children and a small business venture intervened but the itch to set words on a page refused to go away.
My first novel, The Spiral of Time, was a children's book. I learned a lot about writing by the time I completed it and even more about myself. Chiefly that I was hooked on prose. More books followed. My current novel is a comedy thriller, First Chance I Get. It concerns Will Peyton, a guy with a white knight complex and some very dodgy friends. I can see that Will is planning to stick around for a book or two more.
I welcome contacts from fellow writers, fans and any friendly visitor - see my e-mail address at the foot of the page.
Press the 3 bar symbol above to navigate to my other pages
I was brought up on a hill farm on the very edge of the Peak District National Park. I remember the bleak winters of my childhood, snow blown into one massive drift against the front of the farmhouse so that we had to dig our way out, using the coal shovel. Broken electricity wires, brought down by the icy build-up, meant we cooked on a single coal fire, candles lit. I broke icicles off the inside of the windows of my bedroom.
The farmhouse had no bathroom or running water. An outhouse and an old stone trough stood in for WC and taps. I remember water sloshing against my legs from a metal bucket as I carried the pail back into the house. When the trough froze, we collected snow and boiled that. I still find taps magical.
Not surprisingly, all this reality gave me an inexhaustible taste for fiction! I made up stories as a child, to tell my brother in the quiet time before we fell asleep. Later, I wrote short stories, radio plays, even a film script. Life - work, children and a small business venture intervened but the itch to set words on a page refused to go away.
My first novel, The Spiral of Time, was a children's book. I learned a lot about writing by the time I completed it and even more about myself. Chiefly that I was hooked on prose. More books followed. My current novel is a comedy thriller, First Chance I Get. It concerns Will Peyton, a guy with a white knight complex and some very dodgy friends. I can see that Will is planning to stick around for a book or two more.
I welcome contacts from fellow writers, fans and any friendly visitor - see my e-mail address at the foot of the page.
Press the 3 bar symbol above to navigate to my other pages
BooksI am currently working on a comedy thriller: First Chance I Get.
This is the first in a series of 'Chance' adventures. Read an excerpt below. |
BlogMy blog is a mix of articles, stories, poetry and information about the writing process. I try to post regularly but sometimes life gets in the way!
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