The every day inspires me to write. I like to see how characters cope with unplanned change and I create landscapes that influence moods. But also I am interested in how political events and social constraints influences people's choices.I teach Creative Writing in Brighton, UK. My first 'The Eloquence of Desire', was published in 2010.
The Eloquence of Desire delves into the minds of George, his wife Dorothy and their twelve year old daughter, Susan. Their relationships are turned upside down when Dorothy discovers George's affair with his boss's daughter. George and Dorothy are sent to Malaysia while Susan goes to boarding school. Still ruled by Britain, Malaysia is in the throes of the Emergency. The intense tropical heat and her fear of the civil unrest turns Dorothy into a recluse. George embarks on another affair. He and his new lover befriend a Malay boy and his family who live in a kampong in the jungle. But the villagers are supporting the insurgents and it is Susan, over from England, who finds her father and lover in the kampong after an attack by Chinese Communists. It is only after this event that she discovers the truth about her parent's relationship and her psychological disturbance eventually forces her to see a psychiatrist in London. Richly descriptive and well researched; The Eloquence of Desire is a page turner where obsessive love, the terror of war and the lost innocence of childhood are explored in depth.
My grandparents lived in old Malaya for 22 years, before independance and their photos and memories gave me the idea for the novel which has had several brilliant reviews.
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