I’m a 40-something guy from Brighton, England. I grew up in Oxford, studied English Lit in Nottingham. I have a background in music and art.

I am a book cover designer and graphic artist.

I love the classics, in lots of different genres, although I prefer fantasy and sci-fi. I love so many writers, but Neil Gaiman and John Scalzi are some recent authors I admire, influencers would be luminaries like Terry Pratchett and Douglas Adams.

Serious writing takes not only a story to tell, but the craft of writing to tell it well—can you comment on your journey as a writer? 

I fell in love with writing from the get-go, but it has taken several years to get as proficient as I am [not very], although I wrongly assumed I was great from the start… until I met my Beta readers :)

What do you think characterizes your writing style? 

That’s difficult to answer about your own work, if I had to say, perhaps it’s the characterisation and minimalist prose style – that may be complete BS though.

What made you decide to self-publish Nether Light as opposed to traditional publishing? 

I couldn’t bear the timescales involved in traditional and didn’t see any particular advantage over self-publishing.

What do you think the greatest advantage of self-publishing is? 

You are much nimbler as an indie author, and you can literally write what you want, when you want to.

Cross-promotion… although it makes me groan when I see trad pubbed authors plugging the latest book their editor or publishing house has requested them to recommend, I understand why that would be a good idea.

I do have a small band of loyal and brilliant readers, but I think that’s a struggle whether you’re trad or indie.

Why did you enter SPFBO? 

It looked like fun and a good chance to meet other authors and get eyes on my scribblings.

A very silly dance.

Refugee Guyen washes up in the land of his enemy, ready to fight, but soon finds himself drowning in a well of wonder and improbability. And when his brother falls into a dark, unnatural sleep, only a dangerous old magic and new friends can save him.

It grew organically from a discovery write four years ago, and the idea to explore a refugee’s perspective came from current events. It’s unrecognisable from the original idea, which grew slowly over time.

Luxurious. Fiery. Brooding.

3, not including the companion series and side stories.

Guyen is the protagonist. The story is told from his viewpoint. He is an angry young man with a heart of gold, but very battle weary. His twin brother plays a big role, as does a girl he meets called Mist, who’s a bit handy with a blade. The antagonists… well, there are several who exert their power as the ruling elite, which he gets involved with, and they have henchmen, and the henchmen have henchmen… In particular, there is an older woman who takes an interest in him, and her husband, and there is a particular cadet who proves a very thorny companion.

It took me about 600 pages to describe properly, but I’ll have a go. It is long-lost, probability based, and organic, and relies on an energy in the world called Faze. You don’t need a wand, just imagination.

The cover art is a scene from the book, towards the end where they visit a sacred place called the Domes of Karonac. The idea was to show the tone of the story and the conflict between two of the major characters.

Q: Why does the magic freak me out so much?

A: Don’t know, I probably got lucky…

That friends can be found in the most unlikely places.

With a resolve to shake mountains, he willed the blade be gone, but the steel shimmered stronger, a million versions, all spiteful, determined to stay.

I’m hoping to put out a prequel novel around Christmas (following another character from Nether Light), then I hope to get book two out in my other ‘Rankers’ series next year, and make a good start on the Nether Light sequel.

Yes. Be kind to one another.