I was born and grew up in Stratford, London, England in 1961 which, some people tell me, makes me officially old, although I don't feel that way.
After starting my adult life in the Royal Navy, until 2004 I had a significant number of jobs, with varying degrees of success. Rubbish in terms of a pension but a wealth of experience for a writer. Since 2004 I have been self-employed, in the same business, which is something of a miracle. But there are no managers to fall out with, which probably explains my previous eclectic mix of employers. I have fired myself a few times over the years though. Damn! I must be difficult to work with!
In the 1980s and 90s I wrote a couple of full length novels. One wasn't very good and neither was the other, but I learned a lot in the process, not least of which was the pain of repeated rejections. At that time I was also writing a lot of short stories, one or two of which did make it into print. But again, my collection of rejection slips was close to record-breaking.
Anyway, the point is, that I have dabbled in writing since I was a child. Though I say so myself, I have a bit of a flair for rhyme and, in terms of poetry, rhyme is really the only thing that catches my interest. Sorry, all you experimenters in other styles. Keep up the good work and all, but I'm afraid it doesn't do it for me.
Long after I left the Royal Navy, I was asked to write some very short stories for the back pages of my Royal Naval Association branch's monthly newsletter. I created a pair of characters called Googie and Spud and made up little tales based very loosely upon my own naval experiences. This eventually, via a twisting, winding route, led to the creation of Tanner Shilling and the love of his life, Frankie.
There are three, soon to be four full-length novels in the Tanner Shilling series. They are, in order, The Queen's Shilling, The Blue Suit, Outside and The Package.
I really can't be bothered with all that rejection slip nonsense again. My soul was fairly permanently destroyed last time around. So, thanks to Kindle Direct Publishing I have published them on Amazon. If you're interested, the links to these, and my poetry book Around My World in Eighty Poems are on the My Books tab above this bio.