When I was young, fiction was about escapism. To be lost in a book that was exciting and filled with adventure and populated with

larger than life heroes helped me to forget about poverty and bullying. While reading fiction I was carried away on voyages; my imagination would be fired and I would be lost in another world. I met heroes that I could admire and follow and I could share the experiences of characters that I could relate to; kids like me. I wasn’t alone when I had a book in my hands.

In literature, I have come to enjoy the art and history of language. The variety of structures and styles in which fiction can be written to provide plot and character. The skill of writers that dictate the beat and tempo and to render their worlds in beauty and horror fill me with as much admiration as the characters they create.

There is nothing more human than storytelling . . . it reaches back to the very birth of humanity and it is in the stories we tell our children to warn them of danger, to teach them to be kind and to help them to think and laugh. I find the history and evolution of language fascinating and believe that keeping our dialects and vernacular alive in a world where we are losing language is more important than ever.

I love to discuss literature, books I’ve read, characters I love, hate, or have a more complex relationship with. The fact that you are here and reading this means that we at least have that in common. I think that discussing fiction improves your relationships with others, helps you to connect when you see things the same way and to understand each other when you see things differently. Talking about books increases your vocabulary and of course, your knowledge.

You accumulate an unquantifiable store of facts when you’re reading, whether it’s a classic encyclopaedic novel such as Moby Dick (where you learn everything worth knowing about whales), or a spy thriller (where you learn the fundementals of communicating in code) most of it sinks in and lodges itself somewhere in your mind, to remerge one day when you least expect.

It is my aim to write fiction which evokes empathy and increases compassion by telling stories from the viewpoint of those that are different or underrepresented, and to tell stories that include themes that I think are relevant to ordinary people, whether those stories are set in the past, the present or the future. I also try to tell stories that inform and entertain.

These things are all an aside from the physical act of reading. To sit with a book in your hands, to be at peace. To dream and escape, and to exercise your mind and soul.

I believe in the power of the novel as a means to reach out and strive towards making the world a better place, because it is reading fiction that improved my life and changed the way I see the world.