Profile:
Most of my life I have been an educationalist, having been Head Teacher/Principal/CEO of schools in London and Dubai. The first murder mystery play I sold was in 1996.
I have been member of Watford Writers since the spring of 2019. I made a positive start, winning the first three Flash Fiction competitions.
My main interest in writing is as a playwright. I have written a number of Murder Mystery plays and my business, Murder Mystery Players, has had nearly 2,000 performances of plays written by myself and my father, mainly in schools for Parent Teacher Associations as part of their fund-raising activities. I have had professional productions of my plays in Dubai. I have written Murder Mystery plays, professionally, for one of the major cruise lines, Fred Olsen. To date, I have had 19 murder mystery plays performed for paying audiences.
I have written a number of short plays for festivals in Dubai and London. I have received awards for my scripts and as a director. I have been nominated for an award as an actor. I wrote the play which opened the Emirates Festival of Literature in 2014. I have written 14 short plays which have been seen by paying audiences. My latest short play was performed as part of the Short and Sweet festival in Dubai in February 2021.
I am inspired by the people that I meet, and always try to find the humour in any situation. I have recently completed a book of short stories for younger secondary-age students.
I am currently involved in a writing project for younger primary school children, which we hope will culminate in publication.
I enjoy reading thrillers.
Main writing interests:
I am mainly a playwright, but also a short story writer. Writing for young children is my latest project.
I have written a number of academic dissertations, having completed a dissertation for an M.A. in the Teaching of English Language and Literature at The University of London on the subject of the Hindu religious story, The Ramayana.
I have written an M.B.A. dissertation at the University of Hull on the subject of School Leadership and Emotional Intelligence.
In September of 2021 I completed a dissertation on the subject of Head Teacher Well-being for an M.Ed. degree at the University of Cambridge.
In September 2021 I embarked on a Master of Studies Writing for Performance degree course at the University of Cambridge. This has helped me look at genre that I had not been previously familiar with, such as writing for radio and screenwriting.
Coercive Control is one of the subjects that I am currently writing about.
Published / Self Published:
es. I began with a publisher in Croxley Green who printed my Murder Mystery plays for me before I distributed them. Now, they are usually sold by being downloaded.
I hope to have stories for children published later this year.
Current writing project:
1. My work for the M.St. degree at the University of Cambridge. I am currently writing a critical piece on the issue of collaboration between writers, directors and actors. I am also in the process of writing a comedic play which looks at the use of language by the different generations.
2. I am continuing to co-write stories for young children.
3. I am revising my book of short stories for secondary-age students.
4. I am using my dissertation on the subject of Head Teacher Well-being to write an academic article.
5. I am contemplating writing a story for primary-aged children, based in Dubai, which will take the reader around the sites of the city, which was my home for seven years.
Do you have a special place in which to write?
My study at home.
Do you have a preferred time of day for writing?
In the morning.
Do you have any special techniques for writing? Specialist equipment or writing aids?
I find that my short plays and short stories are inspired by a single idea which I then develop e.g. the car’s satnav comes alive. The Murder Mystery plays, being full length plays, require quite a high level of structure. They are planned in much greater detail than the short plays.
Have you been involved with any other writing activities?
I have run workshops on the subject of writing Murder Mystery plays for the Emirates Festival of Literature. I have also run workshops on the writing of short plays for Watford Writers and potential writers for the Short and Sweet Essex festival.
Do you have other interests? and/or member of other groups/societies?
I enjoy being involved in acting and have done professional work as an actor, having appeared in dramas on Syrian and UAE TV. Earlier in my life I was part of the semi-professional acting group, Clogs Mobile English Theatre, based in Malmo in southern Sweden. We took two plays to the Edinburgh fringe festival in 1980, one of which I co-wrote.
I am a member of my local squash club in Northwood. I enjoy the active and recreational aspects to my membership there.
I am interested in tracing my family tree, although finding time for this hobby is always an issue. I am interested in how tracing one’s family tree opens a window into the social history of the time.
I take an interest in all sport and am a keen Evertonian, as is everyone in my family. I was brought up in Runcorn on Merseyside and Northwich in central Cheshire; my father was born and brought up in Liverpool. I often go to my local Premier League Club (Coronavirus notwithstanding) to watch The Hornets buzz around Vicarage Road.
Do you have a website; Facebook, Twitter; Instagram? or write a blog?
I have a website: murdermysteryplayers.co.uk
What message would you like to give to other writers / would-be writers?
Never give up! One of the biggest problems for any writer is that they can be over-critical, so that they are constantly altering what they do before completing the first draft. Just finish the first draft and focus on making corrections later.
It is always helpful to work with someone else, preferably a fellow-writer. Work with another/others to form a team. This will help you critique each other’s work, once you have written that first draft!
Do you have favourite author or book?
Tom Sharpe’s stories about Wilt have always made me laugh.