Book FAQs

What age range are your books for?

They are for mature young adults through to adults, though the Bloodline books have appealed to a range of high school kids and I know of several high schools that stock them. I would advise parent caution on them, and I wouldn’t want anyone younger than 16 reading them, but everybody is different.

You can try before you buy. My books have very generous samples (up to six chapters) and Bloodline: Alliance is the whole book. Click on the book on its respective information page and you can see inside to read it.

Do they have a Christian worldview?

I am unashamedly a follower of Jesus Christ. So yes, the books have a God-centred worldview, but they are written for EVERYBODY, even those who have never read a fantasy before and who are convinced they wouldn’t like one.

Have you ever thought of writing anything other than fantasy?

A little piece of me dies every time I hear that question because I know what it means, and it doesn’t mean, “I love everything you do so have you written anything other than fantasy that I can check out?”

What they really mean is, “Have you ever considered writing something serious?”

I believe that fantasy can be very serious and can change the world. I’m not saying that glibly. Fantasy can transcend boundaries, cultures and societies. It is the ultimate metaphor that can penetrate areas of life that other genres can’t. But it can also be fun, uplifting, inspirational, even a little silly if an author chooses it to be. Does that make it not proper writing? I think someday someone is going to have to define what “proper” writing is and what a “proper” book is, because even those who ask the question can’t really define it. They just think that fantasy isn’t it, as if we’re just kids playing make-believe or who haven’t really grown up yet. It’s a question asked by people who have made a decision about fantasy novels before reading them. And to that, I can only sigh or shrug.

Still, I will answer. The answer is, yes, I have. Fantasy novels were my passion and calling for many many years, but journalism and editing was my bread and butter. I was commissioned to research and write a non-fiction collection of life stories, I ghostwrote a series on world religions and cults, have written countless articles as a journalist, written web copy, blog posts, educational packs, even a play or two.

Is that “proper” enough?

Are you traditionally published?

Like the question above, this question makes me sigh because it’s usually asked by people who want to know if the books have been validated by a publisher and therefore are proper. Currently, I own the rights to my books, and I release them myself. For that privilege, I am very, very glad.

Once upon a time I wanted only to be traditionally published, and I was traditionally published at one point, but it wasn’t the dream it was supposed to be. It turned out to be a nightmare. And I am not the only author to discover just how corrupted and author-abusive the industry is.

Many authors never get their books back from exploitative publishers and contracts, but by God’s grace, I got out of there. Now I am free to release the books my way, or pull them out of circulation my way if I ever choose to.

Your book Bloodline talks about racism. Are you woke?

No. Absolutely not. I am very much anti-woke.

I started to write Bloodline in reaction to a genuinely racist man at a time when racism was a word we barely uttered. I’m talking about a man who believes that everyone of a particular country or countries and everybody of a particular ethnicity should be exterminated. (I won’t mention the country or ethnicity. It will only hurt people.) He believes, or did believe at the time, that everybody of a particular ethnicity is a violent rapist and/or murderer. And that anyone who comes to his country needs to drop all their cultural habits and live only as a white western person. (I don’t know how he thinks every white western person lives because I tend to think there is no one way that “we” all live.)

So that’s what prompted Bloodline. I couldn’t tell him he was wrong; I could only show him. But the answer may surprise you. Are all people of a particular ethnicity or colour bad? No. Absolutely not. And that includes white people! CRT is just another form of racism.

But Bloodline is so much bigger than that. It began as a way to show, not tell, but the themes grew and grew until it became something even I didn’t intend.

Your book Shadowland seems to have feminist themes. Are you a feminist?

No. I am most definitely not. Shadowland is, in part, my answer to feminism and the toxicity that I first saw when I went to University many many years ago and listened to and watched the birth of feminism. The rage and animosity that was arising, and the blindness, disturbed me deeply, and actually nearly destroyed me physically. A seed was planted all those many years ago that became part of Shadowland. I stress part of because like all of my books, it is so much bigger than that. It is a book about the things that can change us and blind us, the traumas, the propaganda, the indoctrination. The themes of it run very, very deep. Some of it, people may pick up and understand. Some of it, they probably never will. And some people may not “get” the book at all, but I had to write it anyway, at least for myself. Of all my books Shadowland is the most personal, though for very obscure metaphorical reasons.

Are the books really dark?

A little. It’s hard for me to answer because our tolerance levels are changing so rapidly thanks to violence, death and adult themes in movies and on TV. Let’s just say, they’re not George RR Martin dark, but not CS Lewis childlike. Bad things happen to good people, certain topics are discussed and exposed, and adult themes are raised.

Some books have mild and story-applicable love scenes. But the current series I’m working on, a 6-book series, has a stronger one.

If you are particularly sensitive to dark things, I would say that the one to avoid is Shadowland. It gets quite dark in places for an important reason. And definitely avoid the six-book series I’m currently working on. It’s the most adult yet. It is also the only one with occasional language in it – again, story applicable. 

I do everything very, very deliberately. I don’t add in dark bits to make it saleable and sensational. In everything I do I am considering the purpose of all things and it decides what I write.

 Why do the books have more adult themes?

I understand this question. There’s an idea that if you are a follower of Jesus, your books should be pure: free of sex, violence, heartache, darkness, death, chaos and sin. But even the Bible isn’t that. I mean, really, have you ever read it? It doesn’t hold anything back. That’s because the world isn’t like that, and it’s my job to be a light in the darkness. In everything, like in the Bible, it depends on why you’re showing those things.

You can’t show hope without showing heartache. You can’t show healing without showing the pain. You can’t show forgiveness without showing the offence. You can’t show the light without showing the dark. And you can’t show real love without showing hate. It’s my job as a writer to represent what is real and to make you feel, not to whitewash away our troubled world.

Do your books have romance?

Yes, definitely. They all do. The romance is part of the story and weaves through the story, but they’re not romances. There’s a difference. But if you like romantic elements, you won’t be disappointed.

If you’re looking for one with a much stronger romantic element, the Sacrifice series might suit you.

What kinds of fantasies are they? High fantasy? Lord of the Rings stuff?

They’re all completely different. If you like swords and battles, races, elves, dwarves, quests, and journeys, then the Bloodline series would suit. If you prefer more unusual and intimate fantasies that use games and intrigue rather than swords and battles, and are set in an urban environment, Sacrifice would suit.

And if you like books more like historical fiction or from a first-person point of view, or even books that defy their genre and go to places no other fantasies go, then Shadowland is the one.

Are any of your books standalones?

Bloodline is one story split into two parts, but with each part logically separated. It has a kind of “cliffhanger” ending. If you read one book, you’re committing to two.

Sacrifice works perfectly as a standalone but if you love the characters of it, be sure to read the sequel. The sequel, Redemption doesn’t come out of nowhere. It is intimately connected to the first one. It will blow open the first book so hugely, you will never see the first book the same again. It is, actually, one whole story.

Shadowland is absolutely a standalone. There is no second book.

The series I am currently working on, the six-parter, tentatively called “The King’s Gambit” is one giant story split into six parts. There is no ‘cliff hanger’ ending on each book. It just ends and the next chapter of the next book takes up the story. Looking back it will make sense why each book was its own part as each one hovers around an idea and a group of locations, but ultimately it is one giant, and I mean GIANT story. It’s six books with each book being a huge novel. If you don’t like BIG stories, it’s not for you. But, like all my books, my goal is to hook you in the first few pages and grip you until the last few pages of the entire series. I never just rely on your goodwill and personal commitment to a book. I aim to make the pages turn themselves. I hope I have pulled it off for this one as well.

Where can I buy your books?

Currently, you can buy them on Amazon worldwide as paperbacks or ebooks.

From time to time I have them for sale on this website as an epub and PDF download.

I also have generous samples – up to six chapters and more – of each book on this site, and the Bloodline: Alliance ‘see inside’ is the complete book. Yep, the whole thing. You can read it and decide if it’s your kind of fantasy/book. No need to buy it if you just want to come back and keep reading online.

Would I like your books?

Do you love stories that make you think and make you feel? That move you, inspire you, challenge you, change you?

Do you like stories with romance, adventure, and heart?

Do you love stories with lots of layers and great depth?

Do you love stories with twists and turns and big surprises?

Do you love intense mysteries and stories that hook you in the first few pages and don’t let go until the last page is read?

Do you love books with strong and highly memorable characters that will stay with you forever?

Then you will love these!