Ladies and gentlemen, the image you see, is me. Behold. I am the Halloween decoration sitting on my bookshelf. This is what over twenty years of toiling at the same project has done to me.  I have so many titles for this image, 'The Story will Live On', 'Reading Myself to Death' (or should I say Writing), but perhaps the best one is 'Death Doth Us Not Part'. At least, I mean, that nothing in this life or dare I say, death, will ever separate me from my book. You couldn't pry my cold dead hands.  Oh, did I say book?  I mean 8 books. Eight. I didn't initially plan to write eight books. You could say I bit off more than I could chew, but another writer friend actually said to me one day, 'There's no such thing as biting off more than you can chew, some bites just take longer to chew than others.'  How's that for a fresh perspective?

I feel like I’ve been writing my series since 1664. That’s how long I’ve been working at it. Why so long? That’s actually quite a long answer. I shan’t answer now – there’s another section I’ll devote to that. However, basically it’s taken me all my adult life to get this far with my books. I always joke to everyone and say, ‘Yeah, I’ll probably only publish when I’m 80.’ …However, I have to admit, sometimes I’ve looked in the mirror at 1am in the morning, having just closed my manuscript down for the night and see the worry drawn long in my face: ‘Jokes aside, will I ever get to publish at this rate?’

So, what was my inspiration for deciding to write a medieval fantasy series? Well, if we trace it back to the origin of the origins of the origins, let's say that it might’ve come from a slow-growing infatuation with medieval history – which I suppose initially seeded in my head during a school lesson when we were learning about the Black Death. Learning about medieval Europe in a school in South Africa wasn’t exactly a large part of our curriculum, yet that titbit of info that I did get in those few lessons somehow really stuck with me.

Growing up I watched things like Xena: Warrior Princess, and Power Rangers. I’d always liked Arthurian stories too – which especially held a romanticised place in my head. What was in common with them? Heroes. I like heroes. Epic adventures. The good vs. the bad.

Then the movie ‘King Arthur’ (Clive Owen, 2004) came out. Wow. What inspiration. Not ignoring the fact that I was also simply enthralled by the Lord of the Rings movies around that time. So, you could say it was those things… paired with a day of boredom, that that little spark I got from my school lesson all those years ago was reignited. Then, with my freshly kindled inspiration all abuzz in my head, I ran off to my local library to do a bit of research on knights, castles, destriers (destrier anyone? …It is a warhorse). The plan: I was going to write. About a knight. I had one initial scene in my head and after that, not much more of a plan!

That scene popped into my head in November 2004. Afterwards, Kingdom of Heaven came out (Orlando Bloom 2005). The rest is history… I have been typing ever since.

So, who am I on a personal level: I am a South African/United Kingdom dual national and the keeper of many a notebook that contains wandering arrows which connect plot points and problem solving mind maps to half-thought ideas and pop up things for my characters to say. (Said notebooks have been carted across continents). I have a natural affinity for cats. Cats and I have the same soul. I love cheese. I’m an INTJ – yes, I like to sit alone in my head. My head is my fortress and galaxy. I also have an acute aversion to stupid. Also, perhaps contrarily, I can be a bit of an entertaining goof too, and a weird but useful glitch that I have is that I’m capable of taking ‘awkward’ and inverting it… a pleasant party trick that seems to delight anxious people and makes others giggle judgmentally behind their hands - but giggle nonetheless. My humour sits on two opposite ends of the scale: at the dumb simplicity side of practical jokes, or else directly on the mark of cynical sarcasm and dry wit. I don’t mind making myself the butt of the joke either. Also, I have the perseverance of Scrat from Ice Age. I’m a dog with a bone. I. Do. Not. Give. Up. I don’t just fall out of the sky when thunderstorms strike. Well, there was this one time…. Don’t worry I won’t drop the story on you here. Just know the battle was sheer. But I rose up again. Rest assured, in any case, the bonus of knowing me, is that if you are the type of person who is wholeheartedly trying to achieve a goal, you can be sure I am the kind of person who will wholeheartedly be cheering you along. I’m packed with enough motivation to hand out to everyone.

There, dear reader, if this sprawl of text wasn't already long enough for you, I leave you now to follow the arrow trail to the other sections of my site if you’d like to know more about my books and my journey. As for the first book of Summon the Gharda, it is titled, The Lord of Gent… and it’s coming guys… it’s coming soon! Hold onto your helmets.