Where did you grow up and how did this influence your writing?
I grew up in a town called Wick, which is in Caithness, at the very top of Scotland, near John O'Groats. It's a beautiful place, surrounded by plenty of 'wild' places to play as a child, such as beaches, cliffs, forests etc... so I developed a spirit of adventure which has seen me travel a lot and do things like caving in Budapest, riding a camel across part of the Sahara Desert to the pyramids in Egypt and working 100 miles inside the Arctic Circle in Norway while serving in the Royal Air Force. This excitement and spirit of adventure can be found in many of my characters, who have a high degree of risk taking that keeps readers on the edge of their seat. I draw upon the different places and cultures I have seen to build realistic and believable environments.
Do you remember the first story you ever wrote?
I don't remember the first ever story, as it feels like I have always been writing, but I do still have a copy of a book I wrote when I was very young. I was raised in Scotland and the book was about a slightly crazy Haggis who ran a guesthouse and had to keep supplies of bacon stocked up so that he had the strength to fight off armies... i'm sure you will agree this a rather unique genre and I don't think it will be made available on Smashwords anytime soon!!
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