Look and Listen

Biography

Paul grew up in the city of Bath in England, a place that everyone should see before they die. Paul began his work life as a bookseller with WHSmith in the UK, before they told him to peddle music instead. He sold music and movies on both sides of the Atlantic over the next decade and a half, when the rise of Napster and file sharing convinced him the music business was over for retail. In 2002 he earned an MBA from the University of Alberta and joined a small medical device manufacturer as General Manager. In his time there he became an ISO expert, a sales guy, chief hirer and firer and eventually made President, which sounds better than it was. In 2006 he moved to Ontario where he now lives and writes. A lifelong reader, Paul's favorite books are A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving, Nobody's Fool by Richard Russo, and more recently the Wool series by Hugh Howey.

Inspiration

I read everything and anything. I love to read and wish I had more time to do it. Sometimes I read fast and sometimes slow. It took me as long to read Bleak House (Dickens) as it did the entire series of Aubrey/Maturin sea-faring adventures (O'Brien). I draw inspiration from other books, the people I see around me and a lifetime of observing how the world works. My first novel, The Philanthropist's Danse, explores just how people will react when offered a chance to walk away with a share of a vast fortune. The results were not pretty, but quite entertaining to read. My upcoming new novel, The Mercy Contracts, was inspired by a question. "What would happen if..." You'll have to wait to find out more, but that question is a great jumping off place for any writer looking for a story idea.