I am a veteran from the Army (Paras) and I concentrate on real life events pertaining to the forces. A great deal of my writing comes from the heart and my experiences whilst serving in the Paras and the Military Corrective Training Centre (the Glass House) in Colchester, Essex, England.
My book Stretcher Bearer briefly covers how the red cross was formed, heroes from past conflicts and my own duties as a stretcher bearer during the Falklands War in 1982 whilst serving with 2 Para.
Another one of my books describes how I cope with PTSD as I suffer from this debilitating illness myself. I will also be working on another controversial issue, after-care of servicemen and women, regular and reserve which should be complete shortly, called just a number.

I grew up in Manchester. I was not initially interested in writing at all at school infact I wished my school days away as I did not pay a lot of notice with my education. In hindsight I do realise it was a big mistake and only really began educating myself once I joined the Army.
To progress in the Army you have to pass education courses which I did, and if promotion is what your after further education is required. I completed a civilian writers course to become a published writer and have not looked back since. My military experiences influence what I write as I have an abundance of knowledge that I feel the public would like to hear and see. It is also used as a tool to aid with my illness PTSD as I was told by a specialist to write about my experiences as it will help me.

I began writing midway through my military career and the first thing I wrote was my autobiography with a twist - not published as yet.

My latest book is about Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). I wrote this because I suffer with this invisible enemy within and wanted to pass on my experiences and tips to others who suffer in silence. I am about to publish two more books, one called 'a students guide to the Falklands War,' aimed at schools, colleges and universities describing the history behind the Falklands; how it has changed, what it has to offer, a roll of honour to those who lost their lives, awards for gallantry and more. The second is called 'just a number,' and is a very true, but honest account of life in the forces. It will be controversial, but a good read.

Publishing through normal channels i.e. through book publishers pertaining to paperbacks is a mine field and there are some sharks out there that try to take advantage of up and coming authors. ebooks are the thing of the future and its reasonably straight forward. Smashwords gives the basic author hope and a challenge to progress in the field of writing.

Smashwords are a friendly easy going well established ebook name and give beginners hope. I may not make thousands of pounds publishing on the sight but simply having my name down as a publisher is amazing. You never know what may become of my writing! One day someone may pick out my title and say, hay I like this, lets do something with it.

The greatest joy about writing is the final product and getting it published.

They mean a great deal especially if they enjoy my work.

I have something planned again to do with the military which goes into the military system very closely and covers the good things and bad which will shock some readers. The book is called just a number.

I don't have a favourite author, I read non fiction only and always military oriented.

My family (especially my wife my rock and safety blanket) and my ipad so I can check if any one has looked at my latest book

With my family

I look on any ebook site

My autobiography

I ensure any facts I write about are correct and double check. I do bullet points or a simple spider graph of what I am going to cover.
Once I do the authors note and have an index to work from that's me I'm off.

As I only read fact I learn from what I read and this inspires me to write more.

My first cover design was from a contact through Smashwords

Like I say I don't have favourites I simply see a title (non fiction) and to do with the military and have a look inside. If I like the contents I buy it and read it.

Non fiction military books

My e-reading device of choice is the IPAD mini

Tidy and accessible

Being ex military I find true life events very interesting and gain a fuller picture of what other units do beit UK service personnel or those from abroad.