Chris Calder

Biography

Where do I start? I would like to tell you that I have had a long and interesting life; but I won’t, because it isn’t over yet. An aggressive cancer did try to end it recently but I fought back and won, so I'll be around for a while yet.
I am a British citizen, retired and living in France in idyllic surroundings; a great situation for a writer. I had the great good fortune to be born and raised in India, spending the first sixteen years of my life there. I moved to England in the mid-fifties, a time when the quality of life was in many ways, incomparably better than it has been since.
I have always had a restless mind and fortunately, plenty of energy. During my years working for others and later, in my own business, I had engineering devices patented on three occasions. All worked. They gave me the satisfaction of being able to start my own business and make a precarious living thereafter. Happy days; but retirement is better. Retirement has given me the freedom to indulge my passion for writing. And if you enjoy the work produced by my manic brain, it will be for me, the icing on the cake of satisfaction.

Smashwords Interview

Where did you grow up, and how did this influence your writing?
I was incredibly lucky to have been born in India during the end of the "Raj", as the British occupancy of the Indian subcontinent was known. All of my formative years were spent in conditions that, looking back, seem unbelievably idyllic. Yet it was not all roses. At the age of seven I was packed off to a remote boarding school that was run by the Christian Brothers, where the school term lasted nine months. At that age, long enough to have grown out of the shoes in which I had arrived! The credit for creating in a small boy an appetite for reading and, subsequently, writing, must go to one of the excellent teachers. One day I shall dip into the recesses of my memories of that time, and another book will be born.
What's the story behind your latest book?
My latest book is also my maiden novel. It is a pacey revenge thriller which drew heavily on my own life experiences. The story has two main plot lines. The first is about Geoff Summers, a brilliant designer of electronic control systems for a company that makes anti-burglar equipment. Geoff becomes a cold, ruthless criminal when his vindictive new managing director prevents him from fulfilling his wife's dying wish. The second plot line follows Jim Warwick, a wealthy motor trader who is also a dealer in drugs. Sparks fly on the night that Warwick is cornered by the police and Geoff is at Warwick's house with a gang of burglars.
Read more of this interview.

Where to find Chris Calder online

Where to buy in print

Books

Drama in the Theatre
Price: Free! Words: 870. Language: English. Published: November 21, 2013 . Categories: Fiction » Humor & comedy » General
A true account of a minor drama in the operating theatre that nearly became a tragedy
The Awful Truth
Price: Free! Words: 430. Language: English. Published: November 21, 2013 . Categories: Fiction » Humor & comedy » General
The awful truth is revealed to a small boy in 1937 in pre-war London

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