Me, myself, I...

I was born within sound of the tugboats on the River Tyne which, to a Geordie, has the same resonance as Bow Bells to a Londoner.

Having been raised in the same borough which produced footballer Paul Gascoigne and AC/DC frontman Brian Johnson, I then relocated to the semi-rural village (or town - it's up for debate) which became the home of my best-known fictional character, Ryan Jarrod. I now reside in Northumberland - a land of rugged coastlines, historic castles, and rolling landscapes.

It's little wonder I set most of my work in the area I know so well and love so much, and I try to capture the essence of Tyneside and its surrounds - both the beauty and its industrial heartlands, its architectural charm and its deprivation, and the warmth of the people set against their often tough backgrounds - in my books.

I was first published at the age of nine when a letter I submitted to a children's comic was featured as 'Contribution of the Week,' earning me the rich rewards of a 10/- postal order (there's a clue to my age) and a transistor radio which I kept in working order for over twenty years.

Since then, I have had work published in national newspapers, travel reviews, and sports magazines before turning my hand to fiction where my heart has always lain. My Ryan Jarrod series  of crime novels are described as 'LJ Ross meets Ann Cleeves with the gritty, urban twist of Ian Rankin and Peter James.' 

Away from the keyboard, I have been a season-ticket holder at St James' Park through thin and thinner, and am a keen follower of Durham CCC.

I have also done some TV work with appearances in 'Victoria' starring Jenna Coleman, and 'Frontier' alongside Jason Momoa, Alun Armstrong, and Jamie Sives.

I must own the face of a bygone era.