I'm always looking for new forms for my writing. Over the years I've published fiction long and short, essays, poems and light verse and enjoyed working with every medium. If there's one thing that I hope these books have in common, it's humour. I hope you have as good a time reading my books as I had when writing them.
If You Can't Stand The Fun,
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Ten Days on Kalista
What happens when a group of business executives, who find they can no longer exploit the inhabitants of Earth and despoil its natural resources because of do-gooder laws, travel to another world in search of easy profits?
They find the locals thought of it first.
This romp across the galaxy takes us to Kalista, the larger of the planets of the Smiling Disc star system, where intelligent life has been discovered that has a very different outlook from what we call intelligent life on Earth. The group of travellers gets the opportunity to compare not only business practices on Kalista with those at home, but also the way Kalistans approach government, religion, sex and war - with, as they say, hilarious consequences.
This touching yet laugh-out-loud comedic examination of another possible way of living makes us question in a very real sense what exactly it is to be human.
Non-human readers will also probably find this book instructive.
They find the locals thought of it first.
This romp across the galaxy takes us to Kalista, the larger of the planets of the Smiling Disc star system, where intelligent life has been discovered that has a very different outlook from what we call intelligent life on Earth. The group of travellers gets the opportunity to compare not only business practices on Kalista with those at home, but also the way Kalistans approach government, religion, sex and war - with, as they say, hilarious consequences.
This touching yet laugh-out-loud comedic examination of another possible way of living makes us question in a very real sense what exactly it is to be human.
Non-human readers will also probably find this book instructive.
Topical sonnets for our age
In this collection of 36 new sonnets, I've tried to contrast the ‘innocence’ of pre-industrial man, living in balance with nature, with the ‘experience’ of our modern condition.
We have over-populated our little Earth, pushing other species to the margins or to extinction, wasting resources and polluting our very own habitat with our waste. Without a radical change in direction, the future looks bleak for mankind.
The inspiration for this book comes from Songs of Innocence and Experience by poet and illustrator William Blake (1757-1827). Though Blake’s concept of ‘the Fall of Man’ was more spiritual than practical, in keeping with the perspective of his age, the contrast with my premise is not as stark as you might expect. Despite his visionary insights, Blake had no conception of how far we would fall 200 years after his death, taking mankind to the brink not only of spiritual, but existential, disaster.
More>> Buy ebook or paperback >> Samples>>
We have over-populated our little Earth, pushing other species to the margins or to extinction, wasting resources and polluting our very own habitat with our waste. Without a radical change in direction, the future looks bleak for mankind.
The inspiration for this book comes from Songs of Innocence and Experience by poet and illustrator William Blake (1757-1827). Though Blake’s concept of ‘the Fall of Man’ was more spiritual than practical, in keeping with the perspective of his age, the contrast with my premise is not as stark as you might expect. Despite his visionary insights, Blake had no conception of how far we would fall 200 years after his death, taking mankind to the brink not only of spiritual, but existential, disaster.
More>> Buy ebook or paperback >> Samples>>
Selected Short Stories of Thailand
SamplesThis new book is a personal selection of short stories about Thailand made by my old friend and noted literary editor Robert Johnstone. The eighteen stories are drawn from all four of my story collections. In his introduction, Johnstone writes: "these stories examine many different aspects (not just that of intermarriage) of the various forms of love affair that spring up between Thailand, its people, its culture and its environment, and those who have come to know it."
More>> Reviews>> Samples>>
More>> Reviews>> Samples>>
The Thailand Sonnets
What could be more unusual, and more alluring, than a collection of 38 sonnets all about modern life in Thailand?
Most people, including me, think of the sonnet as a rather dry form of verse, but in fact the rhythm and rhyme a sonnet requires make it proceed at a rollicking pace and the discipline of getting your point across in only 14 lines cuts the waffle and encourages economy of expression.
If you want to know about making merit, ladyboys, elephants, bar ladies, Songkhran, the jungle and all the other things that go with living in one of the most fascinating countries in Asia, then you may well enjoy this book.
Reviews>> More>> En francais>> Samples>>
Most people, including me, think of the sonnet as a rather dry form of verse, but in fact the rhythm and rhyme a sonnet requires make it proceed at a rollicking pace and the discipline of getting your point across in only 14 lines cuts the waffle and encourages economy of expression.
If you want to know about making merit, ladyboys, elephants, bar ladies, Songkhran, the jungle and all the other things that go with living in one of the most fascinating countries in Asia, then you may well enjoy this book.
Reviews>> More>> En francais>> Samples>>
