My interest in science fiction and fantasy began when I dropped out of university, having struggled to cope with the group system of learning, among other things. I used to pop down to local libraries to satisfy my intellectual stimulation, picking up books with the nicest covers then seeing if the descriptions struck a chord with me. I discovered Alastair Reynolds, Peter F Hamilton, R Scott Bakker, Drew Karpyshyn, Philip K Dick and Mark Charan Newton. I identified with their stories, opening my interest and imagination, and paving the way for self-discovery and self-expression in the form of writing.
I’ve been writing since 2009, when I wanted to explore an idea about beings that thought and interacted differently. Originally I wanted to explore neurological differences in the hope of understanding mine. The end result, The Antpod Faction, was a science fiction spy story about unusual antpods that were semi-organic robots, perhaps to show they weren’t too robotic and weren’t too human either. I decided to publish it in 2012. This was the beginning of my self-publishing journey. When I first started selling The Antpod Faction at stalls I became convinced it was my signature story.
Where writing was concerned I went where my inspiration took me and instead of focusing on a sequel to The Antpod Faction, in 2011 I delved into the heroic fantasy genre because of my fascination with films like 300 and books by JRR Tolkien and R Scott Bakker, publishing Roc Isle: The Descent (2013) and Tempest (2014). I thought there was something to learn on a battlefield where the stakes were high, and where the characters sought to escape from expectation and duty, just as I sought to escape it in reality.
While still in the exploration phase I started writing a peculiar story in 2012 about a galactic war that centred on a leader and his cohort of soldiers. To better understand the idea I linked it with questions. What if this leader had lost his galaxy and had to find a habitable planet? What if he found the Solar System? Would be bring the worst traits of his galaxy with him? Whose side would he be on, ours or his? I finished writing the second half of this story in 2013, and published it in January 2015, with the title Marcellus: The Mantle.
In 2015 I also published a 2nd edition of The Antpod Faction in ebook and paperback because I could improve the organisation of the content and tidy up the language. The 2nd edition is the version you’ll see at retailers.
I spent much of 2016 researching different science fiction and fantasy genres and brooding over how I should move forward with publishing. I had a lot of decisions to make because my author platform wasn’t consistent: I had published books in different genres that would appeal to different target audiences, and that’s not including my new works. And so, at the onset of 2018 I decided to focus primarily on the Marcellus theme and on my new Marcellus writing project until I’ve developed it to the best standard possible. Therefore there are no immediate plans to publish. You can expect from me writing updates, special offers, and maybe the odd video during 2018.
