Look and Listen

Biography

I'm an ex-installation engineer and have worked in 33 different countries. My first novel, Appointment in Samara (out of print) came out in 2002 from Barclay Books, Florida. Since then I have created my own small press, Citiria Publishing, and released "Heart Bypass - The Road Map" for those who have to go through this procedure, and recently, my SF-satire "Rebody". Citiria Publishing is open to submissions - please see guidelines at www.citiria.com/citiriapublishing. I also have a book design and production company for emerging writers who want to self publish, Citiria Books. This offers evaluation, editing, typesetting, cover design, ISBN/PCN, and printing services. See www.citiria.com/citiriabooks for more information.

Inspiration

I write in the areas of general fiction, action-adventure, and SF. I'm also a keen poet and have been published in poetry anthologies, the most recent being "Routes" by the excellent small UK press, Bewrite Books. I'm attracted to action stories probably because my whole life has pretty much been an adventure; I've been to places not many people set foot in, such as Africa (Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Niger, Gambia, Senegal, the Congo, etc) and the Arab countries, including two trips to the amazingly biblical South Yemen. I was in Nicaragua just after the revolution threw out Somoza and the CIA were sending terrorists in to destabilise the government. I've met many rock stars and other personalities through my work in radio, including Stevie Wonder, Pete Townshend, John Cleese, the Grateful Dead, Sanatana, Uri Geller - who did his spoon bending trick for me - Colonel Sanders, and many many others. My influences as a writer include Len Deighton, master of spy stories, and in SF, JG Ballard, Brian Aldiss, Michael Moorcock, and Philip K Dick. I don't so much read books as devour them. These days I live in northern Mexico because it's one of the few countries remaining that are civilised and also have a degree of freedom for the individual, unfortunately freedom doesn't really appply in my home country, England, any more.