Born in the 1950s in an anonymous northern English town; I left school at sixteen and worked in a series of manual jobs until, at the age of 24, I decided to do something more challenging and rewarding. I chose to combine education and travel, by working over the winter while I studied and touring Europe in the summer after taking exams. I did this for a couple of years until I had the qualifications to get myself on to a degree course.
I have been interested in history since I was a boy, which I suppose explains why, when I came across a degree course in History and Politics at Coventry University that looked tailor made for me, I applied right away.
In my first year at Coventry I lived in the halls of residence within a stone's throw of the Leofric Hotel. Just a short walk from my halls, is the bell tower that houses a clock, which when its bell chimes the hour, produces a half size model of a naked Lady Godiva riding a white horse. Above her, Peeping Tom leans out of a window for a better view. In all of the three years I was there, it never once occurred to me that I would one day write a book featuring Earl Leofric and his famous wife, as key characters.
After graduating, I spent a year in Canada before returning to England to train as a Careers Officer in Bristol. Later, I lived and worked in Gloucestershire as a Careers Officer and then in Adult Education.
After I met my wife, I moved back to Bristol to live and I worked at Bath Spa University as a Student Welfare Officer. It was about this time I read a biography about King Harold II which fascinated me so much it inspired me to write my own version of events. Now, after many years of study and time spent over a hot keyboard, I have finally produced that novel.
The decision to write 1066 was one of best I ever made. Research took to places I either had never heard of or I thought I'd never see. In England I visited York, Stamford Bridge, Winchester, Bosham, Battle, Stowe Anglo Saxon village. In Normandy I went to Falaise, Mont St Michael and of course Bayeux, to see the famous tapestry. The more I researched the more amazed I became about how events played out. For Harold, everything that could go wrong did go wrong. It was as though the gods were against him; hence the title, 1066 what fates Impose.
The events of mid eleventh century may seem a long way away but the Battle of Hastings set England on a new course. In the early part of that distant century, England had been just one of the kingdoms in Knut's Empire, which included Denmark and Norway. England was as much a part of the north as the other two. The language and culture were similar. England did not look south for ideas and remained aloof from Southern European affairs. After Hastings all this changed. Some say, if it wasn't for the Normans, England would never have risen to prominence. If that's true, there may never have been a British Empire. If it isn't true, there might have been some sort of Nordic Empire that spanned even more of the world. So what impact do I think the Normans had on England? The answer to that will be in the sequel but it is fair to say, a Norman victory changed England forever and consequently had ramifications that echo on through the centuries and around the world. It has to be an interesting story.
