Warm, humane novels full of characters who will stay with you.

Born in Manchester, I grew up in Cardiff, and it became my true hometown, and Wales my true home. I lived in Scotland and then for many years in Wessex before moving back to Wales. I live with my wife Fiona between the South Wales Valleys and the Bannau Brycheiniog with a view of the Black Mountains from my study window.

One factor in the books is Epilepsy. I developed Epilepsy when I was 12 or 13, and it wasn’t fully controlled until my late twenties. Both the condition and the severe medication used in the 1970s constrained my life when my peers were taking flight. I’ve tried to share the psychological impact of having a hidden disability: many of my friends didn’t even know I had epilepsy.

Another factor is my love for the blurred boundaries between science, music, art, and spirituality. I’m the son of a scientist who was a fine musician, the brother of an artist and I’ve studied theology and mythology. I love to share the interplay between these different windows on reality.

I worked for over thirty years with people with learning disabilities, Emmy’s peers. Emmy is a relatively minor character in the first book, but she takes centre stage in the second. 

At work, I became a storyteller, adapting stories for the people I worked with.