Gary Kuyper began his professional literary career writing self-help and general interest articles for Daan Retief Publishers who produced a monthly book for their woman’s club called Woman’s Forum. These articles would sometimes require research and had titles as diverse as The Human Brain and Body Painting!

Being a professional photographer on a part-time basis Gary has also managed to have his articles on photography (With accompanying photographs) published in books and magazines. He has also done some free-lance photography and photojournalism projects for numerous local newspapers.

Over the past four years he has constantly managed to be one of the top finalists in the Nova Short Story Competition (A competition for budding writers of science fiction and/or fantasy).
Last year (2009) Gary had the pleasure of seeing The Devil's Little Tadpoles grace the pages of the local SF & Fantasy Fanzine Probe.

He is an avid film buff and amateur film maker. A few years ago I managed to take first prize in the SA Ten Best Film Makers Competition with a short film entitled The Crimson Cobra - An action-packed martial arts / superhero movie using some of the very talented local artists.

He is a qualified prosthetics make-up artist and has used this talent on both amateur and professional productions. He has also appeared on television in a youth program especially made for enlightening people in the art of special effects make-up.

Gary has a rather excellent general knowledge being not only an avid writer but reader of any material that is able to stimulate him cerebrally.
He taught himself Adobe Photoshop and has become adapt and proficient enough at utilizing the software to such a degree that he has managed to sell a number of creations to various institutes and organizations. He is particularly fond of a logo designed for the Krazy Mug Coffee Shop and several covers that have graced the front of Probe.

Gary has a vast knowledge of music and has appeared on the local Television Music Quiz Show Note for Note where he was able to win a substantial amount of prize money.

In 2008 he entered the SF / Fantasy Mini Radio Play Competition and took first prize with his The Adventures of Captain Max Power of the Intergalactic Police - an obvious homage to the early Flash Gordon radio series’. A number of skilled professionals are now planning to produce Max to CD and have it aired on a local radio station (SAfm).

All his literary and photojournalistic accomplishments have been done on a part-time basis due to the fact that his full time career is lecturing mathematics as well as engineering science at a Technical College. Although this is a most fulfilling profession, it has long been Gary's ideal to become a full-time writer – especially of fantasy, science fiction and horror novels.

He has recently published his first full-length fantasy novel - The Chronicles of Baltrath: The DARK WIZARDS.
As a considerable amount of time and effort has been expended in building the world of Baltrath, Gary has begun work on a sequel to The Dark Wizards.

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• Space Trippers Book 1: Trippin' on April 07, 2010
  
  Space Trippers is space opera at its finest. The book takes its catchy name from a device that was invented for the specific purpose of transporting ones enemies unharmed through a space warp to some uncharted part of the universe without the possibility of them ever returning to their original coordinates. This gives new meaning to the old adage: Out of sight, out of mind! Aurora Lightbourne is a PC Tech with an excellent knowledge of electronic devices and computers which she uses to infuse uncanny life into her creations. Her style is very easy to read and has a nice flow to it. She certainly has a good command of the English language and knows how to build up the necessary intrigue and drama to keep the reader turning the pages. Being a female author, Lightbourne has added a number of strong female characters to her narrative: The by-the-book military Captain C. Fairbanks and the book’s main character Valesque Rhaugh - a strong-willed, independent thinking, no-nonsense taking female Virrilian. One might even surmise that she is an extension of the author herself except for her physical appearance which is very much vampirish (Pale skinned and fanged). Valesque is a brilliant scientist who has constructed a state-of-the-art spaceship named the I.S.A. Magellan; she is also, although regretful of it, the inventor of the space tripping device. The narrative starts off by introducing us to the environment of the Space Trippers viz. the characters, the technology and the politics that have led to the raging intergalactic war that has caused bitterness between Valasque’s race and the humans who are now known as Earthians. An unfortunate (or perhaps fortunate) chain of events have forced her to flee from her own people and reluctantly assist the Earthian controlled Intergalactic Planetary Alliance (I.P.A.) when they illegally commandeer her ship; even changing the name to the I.P.A. Vortex. One can compare this to a roller coaster ride - a slow build up as we ascend to the top but then from the end of chapter four onwards it’s non-stop action and adventure all the way to the last enthralling page that will have you panting for more in Book 2. The characters are all well-developed, and there are a number of scenes rife with sexual tension and some with humour that even had me laughing out loud. If you like stuff like Firefly, Ice Pirates or, and especially, the Star Trek series Voyager, then Space Trippers is definitely a must-read. Given enough time, I expect that Lightbourne’s Vortex will become as well-known as Lucas’ Millennium Falcon or even Roddenberry’s Enterprise. Enjoy!
  
• Ordo Lupus and the Temple Gate on Nov. 23, 2010
  
  An Erotic Supernatural Thriller Once every six decades a terrible evil is allowed access to our physical world. Only a chosen few have the knowledge and power to end the relentless cycle of death and destruction. Many innocents will die in the wake of this eternal conflict. Take an intriguing journey, beginning in pre-war England and culminating within the imposing Gothic structures found dotted across present day France, as one man attempts to find answers to questions that have mystified him since childhood. Have the important events in his life been random incidents or has some unnatural force been guiding him towards some critical destination? Ordo Lupus and the Temple gate is an erotic mystery thriller that will keep you enthralled from the opening sentence to the shocking revelations of the final paragraphs
  
• Iron II: Unknown Place, Unknown Universe on March 27, 2012
  
  SF Action and Adventure at its best Although this is the second part of what promises to be a very exciting trilogy, it is also very much a standalone novel. The best way to describe Iron II is a subtle blending between Stargate and The Flight of the Phoenix. Without giving too much away, the basic plot is about three space academy graduates who crash land on an unknown planet inhabited by primitive humanoid warring tribes. The three’s knowledge of science and technology make them almost godlike in the eyes of the planet’s inhabitants, yet they soon discover that they are not the first beings from the stars to visit here. They befriend one of the tribes and manage to convince them to help with the tremendous task of recovering their space craft from beneath the shifting desert sand. During the course of repairing the ship they undergo many trials and tribulations – some excitingly dangerous whilst others are laugh-out-loud humorous. Lazlo Ferran has managed to create a truly believable scenario of adventure and intrigue that will keep you turning the pages all the way to the end. Recommended!