Author of Escape, Survive – or Die.

What is Escape, Survive – or Die about?

Countless millions of men and women in WWII, both in the armed forces and civilian life, found themselves in life or death situations with the odds stacked against them.

Over fifty stories in the book cover individuals fighting in jungles, deserts, on and below the seas, in mountains, valleys and plains, prison camps, in battles in the sky, or as fugitives hunted in enemy territory, in almost every corner of the world.

What inspired the idea?

The inspiration and essence of this book came from a combination of the impacts of the COVID pandemic, and images from the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and subsequently reinforced by the war in Gaza. It led me to think of how millions of both military and civilians in the Second World War, suffered far worse conditions than the pandemic for far longer, and whose lives were cut short in much greater numbers.

Is there a book that made you love writing?

There have been so many, and there is really no end to them. From my early years I remember Ian Fleming’s ‘Live and Let Die’, Wilbur Smith’s ‘When the Lion Feeds’, and Hemingway’s ‘The Old Man and the Sea’.

What’s the best book you’ve read?

It is very difficult, almost impossible to choose. A recent book, ‘The Wager’ by David Grann is one of the best, and ‘An Officer and a Spy’ by Robert Harris.

A book that had a pivotal impact on your life?

Perhaps more than twenty years ago I read ‘In the Steps of St Paul’ by H.V. Morton, which brings to life St Paul’s travels and preaching of Christianity around the Mediterranean. Morton’s writing has a magic that transports you to those times and places as if it was only yesterday.

A book you could not finish?

Of very few, Tolstoy’s ‘War and Peace’  comes to mind. It too takes the reader back in time as if you are there – I think I was more than half way through, and must return to it.

A book you wish you had read but haven’t got to?

Too many to name, including a long list of Agatha Christie’s. She remains the Queen of crime fiction, with hyper complex plotting, and dialogue as authentic as ever today.

In suspense and thrillers any books by Frederick Forsyth or Gerald Seymour.

What books are on your bedside table?

‘Conclave’ by Robert Harris, who writes historical fiction yet so close to the facts with gripping suspense. ‘Empires of the Sun’ by Roger Crowley, another factual historian but who makes you believe you are there.

What are you writing next?

I am still considering a few ideas, possibly a follow up to Escape, Survive – or Die, or a return to my first writing genre, suspense fiction of some kind.

Order your copy here.