My overriding passion is maritime history especially the fascinating period between Samuel Pepys’ 1670s Royal Navy reforms and the introduction of naval uniform in 1748. This embraces the Golden Age of Piracy, resounding with romantic names – Blackbeard, Calico Jack, Ann Bonny and Mary Read.

On a murkier note, it includes the slave trades, notably the Corsairs who captured the people of Western Europe to ransom or sell in Barbary coast slave markets, and the barbaric triangular trans-Atlantic trade through which millions of Africans were forced to work on the plantations of the Americas. An experienced sailor, Tall Ship Tales are the outcome of both my scholarship and practical knowledge of sailing.

“As a historian, any facts are meticulously researched, and on my Blog pages you will find the fruits of my investigations combined with my lived experiences”

My second absorbing interest is the history of child welfare particularly in the years following the notorious killing of Maria Colwell in 1973. This scandal led to substantial changes in child protection procedures and the setting up in England of a handful of dedicated ‘Special Units’. The Spinningdales Series is based on my experiences of working in two of these plus, as a psychologist, subsequently assisting traumatised children.

Because of my original training as a historian, all facts are meticulously researched, and on my Blog pages you will find the fruits of my investigations combined with my lived experiences, plus reviews of books that have relevance to my novel collections