Tell us about yourself.:
Apart from three years studying History of Art and Philosophy at University College London, I have lived my entire life in North West England – lived and worked in Manchester, and fourteen years ago moved to north Cumbria.
After several years of freelance arts journalism, I ran a NW-based public relations agency called Lawson Leah in the 1990s, then worked for various organisations in the construction industry, as CEO of Construction for Merseyside Ltd and then Director of the Civil Engineering Contractors’ Association. I have been a guest lecturer on urban regeneration and chaired a housing association for three years, and now work part-time as a consultant.
I have had articles on a range of topics, including the arts, construction, engineering, housing and economic development published in numerous magazines, as well as poetry and a guidebook to waterway walks in the NW.

Where did you grow up, and how did this influence your writing?:
I was born in Lancashire and was fascinated by its industrial heritage. That appears in other books I have written, but not Late Venetian – my first published novel. I was fortunate that there were plenty of books in the house.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I aim to write 1000 words per day, then go for a walk – often taking notes en route. I once used a voice recorder, but ended up with children following me, asking what I was doing!

What authors have influenced you?
I was born in Lancashire and was fascinated by its industrial heritage. That appears in other books I have written, but not Late Venetian – my first published novel. I was fortunate that there were plenty of books in the house.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Get words down on paper. Even if you aren't happy with them, you may have the germ of an idea – and you can always edit them later.

What is the best advice you have ever been given?
Writing is more about perspiration than inspiration.

What are you reading now?
Auto da Fe by Elias Canetti, Water on the Brain by Compton Mackenzie, and Five Facts About Giorgione by Hugh Hood.

What’s your biggest weakness?
Impatience

What is your favorite book of all time?
Toss up between Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye and Pynchon's Against the Day,

When you’re not writing, how do you like to spend your time?
Walking, listening to music, seeing and collecting works of art, dining out.

Do you remember the first story you ever read, and the impact it had on you?
It was a Ladybird book, called On the Farm. Not sure about the impact, but it was a delightful book.

What has inspired you and your writing style?
My approach to writing tends to involve identifying a problematic situation and then finding a means of resolving it. I derive particular pleasure from finding the right words to achieve that. I was first inspired to write, as a teenager, after reading The Catcher in the Rye, and latterly find inspiration in the daunting novels of Bellow, Nabokov and Pynchon.

What are you working on now?
I've just finished a story about a self-obsessed artist, and am now working on a darker tale of two school friends who meet again years later, both with a secret the other wants to discover.

What is your favorite method for promoting your work?
Late Venetian is my first novel, so I suppose it's through my contacts, social media. I have also had a piece about it in the local paper.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Polishing up some of my unpublished stuff!

How well do you work under pressure?
Pretty well, having run a PR agency for ten years.

How do you decide what tone to use with a particular piece of writing?
Everyone is different. The plot has to have the right characters, and when they come together, the tone more or less decides itself.

If you could share one thing with your fans, what would that be?
A love of art.