Published Works: Matabele Gold (2003 & 2014), The African Journals of Petros Amm (2004 & 2017), Two Days in Tehran (2008 & 2021), The Divided Self of Lenny Benjamin (2018) and Africa North to South (2022).
Tell me a bit about yourself?
1940 – evacuated as a baby to a Lancashire village; left school at 15; began printing apprenticeship; at 16 flew to Africa.
Worked on tobacco farm and for government tobacco growing scheme around villages in central Nyasaland (now Malawi); returned to school (Rhodesia) at 17; worked in a South African bank; 18, became a reserve police officer (Constable, then Inspector) during a national emergency; 19, into army as a Rifleman in Rhodesia (National Service). Travels: hitch-hiking around Central and South Africa; from London to Italy (1963); drive round Australia (1966); overland expeditions: Turkey to India (1973) South Africa to Europe (1973). (1969) To university (Keele), graduated (1973). Joined Inner London Probation Service (1974) Durham P.S (1978) Greater Manchester P.S. (Wigan 1984). Married (London, 1976). Four children – all brought up and schooled in Wigan, where my wife and I still live.
What sort of literature do you write?
I started on historical novels, after doing a Creative Writing Course at Wigan & Leigh Tech (Lancaster University and Lancashire Polytech in 1991/2, led by Caroline Weston). After the first three (two set in Africa and one in Iran, I tried a psychological, semi-humorous thriller, and then converted two of my overland expeditions – to India from Turkey and to London from Johannesburg – into travel-based thrillers using actual historical events as plot-lines.
My most recent, as yet unnamed, is the third of my travel-based stories, using the same view-point characters from the previous two. This one, almost finished, is with my publisher (Vic Hansen of Trebuchet) at the moment for his assessment. I completed my own Memoirs in 2012.
What inspires you to write?
I started following a very serious paralytic illness, which is still affecting me physically. Currently, I’m running a Memoir and Novel Writing Group for Wigan u3a (university of the third age). I also host an authors’ three-monthly discussion group. Together with a member of the u3a group – Stephen Horrocks – w3e will be setting up a series of self-editing and novel-writing workshops, possibly from the Book Cycle in Beech Hill on Saturdays.
How have your personal experiences influenced your writing?
Tremendously.
Tell me what your latest creative work is about?
See above.
What do you hope your readers will get from your latest creative work?
Inspiration to be creative in devising their own plot-lines.
What are you working on at the moment or what do you have planned for the future?
I’ve reached a point where I don’t want to continue spending too many more solitary hours at a computer and would like to be involved in passing on what I’ve learned about novel, memoir writing and editing (until recently, for seventeen years, I had an academic editing business – I’ve also written an A to Z of Academic Editing for the benefit of my mostly ESL clients – who were mostly Arabs and Chinese, from whom I learned a lot).
What is the most exciting thing and the most challenging thing about writing?
Exploring and creating new worlds; keeping your mind and imagination occupied.
What advice would you give to anyone who wants to be a writer?
(i) Do a creative writing course and try all sorts of writing until you find what suits you best (it won’t necessarily be novel writing) (ii) go for it with as much energy as possible, (iii) master as best you can the art of writing, (iv) don’t neglect research (v) try to meet as many of your fellow writers, face to face, as possible and learn from them.
Where can readers learn more?
No links or social media links given by the author.