Eddie Gubbins

Biography

I left school at sixteen and became a cadet with he Shell Tanker Company. In all, I spent 12 years as a ships officer in the British Merchant navy. That is where my Tales from the Sea posted on www.theoldun.blogspot.com come from. Actually I used to put what happened while I was at sea in some sort of literary context while walking up and down the bridge of ships in the middle of the night. Though it can sound exciting travelling the world’s oceans, at times it can be very boring spendin four hours staring at the sea. I never wrote these stories down at the time just composed them in my head.
After leaving the sea, I graduated and became a university lecturer in Transport management. I had my first taste of writing seriously when I published a text book entitled Managing Trandport Operations.
While lecturing years if my students appeared to get bored with my what I was teaching them, I kept them awake by relating my experiences while at sea! It was these students who encouraged me to write the stories down and post them on the web. over a number of years I wrote a novel entitled Running after Maria loosely based on aperiod in my life. In this novel I explored the effect of great loss and heartbreak and how the kindness of others can lead to redemption. As a first novel I could not find a publisher though I am thinking of publishing this as an ebook.
Since retiring four years ago, I have signed up for Creative Writing classes at the local college. The Tutor ( Debbie Tyler-Bennett) is a poet and makes me write very bad poetry as well as short prose pieces. She has encouraged us to send our writing off to publishers. One of my short stories has been published as the runner up in a competion in an anthology “ islands in mind”.
I have written or am in the prossess of writing a fantasy novel called The Return of the Exiles. I can remeber exactrly when the ideas for this started. It was 1972 and my wife had gone to look after her terminally ill mother. She left me with a copy of Lord of the RIngs and an Album Rambling Boy by Tom Paxton. I read Lord of the Rings in a very short time. It occurred to me that this was a genre in which certain ideas could be explored. Over the years i thought about this made notes and wrote isolated incidents in the story. Since starting Creative Writingclasses some of the other participants I have read some of these incidents to the class. they encouraged me to write the whole novel the result of which is The Return of the Exiles which looks as though it is now growing into two books. On my other web site:
www.eddiegubbins.blogspot.com I am posting my fantasy novel The Return Of The Exiles a chapter a week.
I have published under a grant scheme two novels An Ordinary Life and A Ceremony of innocence.
I have for a long time been interested in how people see themselves and justify their actions. An Ordinary Life explores this concept in that the hero thinks he always acts for the best of motives.
A Ceremony of Innocence explores the 1980’s and how many people grabbed what they could and hang the consequences. They did not consider how their actions impacted on other people.

Where to find Eddie Gubbins online

Books

An Ordinary Life
Price: $2.99 USD. Words: 154,310. Language: British English. Published: March 20, 2015 . Categories: Fiction » Horror » General
The novel follows the life of Tom Houseman. From his early childhood on the edge of a hard council estate to eminent Professor with a worldwide reputation and great wealth. The story explores the dichotomy between reality and life's justification for actions. Can Tom maintain his feeling of living an ordinary life when his friend is shot or must he choose to cross the line he has drawn?
A Ceremony of Innocence
Price: $2.99 USD. Words: 148,570. Language: British English. Published: February 5, 2013 . Categories: Fiction » Literature » Plays & Screenplays
Two brothers are at home on holiday much to the delight of their mother. Their father is the union convener at the local shipyard and he leads the men out on strike against proposed redundancies at the same time as the brothers arrive home. Though on the surface both brothers support their father, underneath they disagree. Will this disagreement break out into open conflict?
Tales From The Sea
Price: $2.99 USD. Words: 102,460. Language: English. Published: January 20, 2013 . Categories: Fiction » Historical » General, Fiction » Coming of age
Tales from the Sea is a semi-autobiographical novel based on my life at sea between 1957 and 1969. In its pages the reader will meet the characters with whom I sailed and their antics. They will experience nights ashore and visit through my eyes exotic places. Read about the different ships, old and new as they plough across the oceans carrying the products of the world Throughout there is the sea
The Prisoner Of Parison
Series: The Rombuli Saga, Book 3. Price: $2.99 USD. Words: 267,840. Language: British English. Published: October 15, 2012 . Categories: Fiction » Fantasy » Epic
Edward Eastland has left. Grand Master Silker told the Council, “ We do not have enough trained soldiers to stop the enemy advance. We have to retreat to Alskar and hope the magicians stop them. It is not much of a strategy." They all know it is suicide. The enemy has stronger magic . Will Nelvask find Edward in time. Will the elves of the Golden City help?
The Return of the Exiles
Series: The Rombuli Saga, Book 2. Price: $2.99 USD. Words: 137,880. Language: British English. Published: October 10, 2012 . Categories: Fiction » Fantasy » Epic, Fiction » Fantasy » General
The Empire is disintegrating. There had been no communication with Parison for over three years. People report strange creatures had been seen. Sending troops to investigate proves futile. As soon as they cross the border all contact is lost. In desperation the Governor of Rombuli sends Edward and friends to investigate. There the possibility that the Empire will not exist when or if they return.
The Teacher Of The Rombuli
Series: The Rombuli Saga, Book 1. Price: $2.99 USD. Words: 108,450. Language: British English. Published: October 8, 2012 . Categories: Fiction » Fantasy » Epic, Fiction » Fantasy » Epic
Edward Eastland lives in an obscure country of the Parison Empire son of the most powerful man in Alskar Province, Idris Eastland. For over a century, the small nation of the Rombuli has been bowed down under the yoke of the Parison Empire and the Imperial Army. Follow Edward as he learns more of the secrets of the Rombuli, confronts the Covenent and he learns more of his power.
Running After Maria
Price: $2.99 USD. Words: 121,940. Language: English. Published: September 9, 2010 . Categories: Fiction » Plays & Screenplays » European
This is the story of one man’s Love and descent into depression after tragedy strikes, his anger at other people trying to help and his redemption in the arms of somebody who admired the dedication of other people who try to help. It explores the question of whether a person can really be saved after a devastating loss especially of somebody that person loves deeply?
Brotherly Love
Price: $2.99 USD. Words: 101,490. Language: English. Published: August 6, 2010 . Categories: Fiction » Plays & Screenplays » European, Fiction » Mystery & detective » Traditional British
This is a story about fear, of somebody out of his depth in a world made strange to him by events he cannot fully comprehend. Ken Flood is pulled by family loyalties along paths of experience which would be best left unexplored. The novel explores the conflicts which arise when an ordinary person is forced to choose between family loyalty and obligation to the wider public.