Hello, hello, hello!

Welcome to my world!

No, I am not the wraith of Jim Reeves! I am Derek Stewart in the flesh! And by 'World', I mean the Imaginary World of my cranium - well, apart from the true life books I do and will be doing soon!

Write a blurb-come-bio about myself, they said! Ooer, Missus! Not much to say about me - I'm just me! Nothing special, just a penniless writer scribbling away in an attic (okay, comfy office, but still skint!) in an attempt to emulate his favourite writers (Leslie Charteris, John Wyndham, Ian Fleming, Peter Lovesey, Steve Harris, Mary Shelley, H.G. Wells...), and make a name for himself.

I am now the grand old age of 62 and Three Quarters, am married to Judith, and have six children (Shelley, Stephanie, James, Daniel, Brett and Curtis), six grandsons (Jason, Kaiden, Levi, Oliver, Handsome Man... em, I mean, Freddie, and new sprog on the block, William), four granddaughters (Skye, Chloe, Aivah, and Ivy). We'll soon take over the world! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!

Ahem, sorry, just came over all megalomaniacal there. Better now, better now... And... relax.

I attended the North School, the Academy, and Banff and Buchan College (all in Fraserburgh, Scotland), then Aberdeen University (in... em, Aberdeen!), and Robert Gordon University (which is also in the granite city), studying various subjects, including English Literature, Creative Writing, Philosophy... I came away with a BA in Publishing and Journalism - it makes me a BA-Heid! LOL! (Groan - I didn't write LOL did I?)

I went on to become a journalist in several local papers, being temporary editor on two (oh, the heady heights! I even had my own tea mug - but I was still the mug who had to MAKE the tea!).

Over the past ten years or so I have been a 'ghost writer' for many, many other writers, earning a pittance for a hard year's slog! I have now decided to 'follow my dream', as they say (whoever THEY are!), and concentrate on doing what I like doing the most: write my own books, especially Crime & Thrillers and Horror/Weird fiction. All small things, but mine own! Some are on Kindle - Cheap as a chip!

BrightSpark Publishing, the small Scottish publishing house, were my chosen publisher. Under the expert eyes of Judith Edwards and Bruce Dickie, I published many and varied books with and for other people.

I have recently published my first 'own name' non-fiction book: The Potted History Of... The Persuaders! (Available here - HINT HINT!)

I am working on and will have Lone Wolf Books publish 'The Rag and Bone Man' - a gritty Police Procedural based in the North East and North of Scotland - later this year.

I am working on two others:

a Crime/Sci-Fi/Fantasy fusion called The Brain Drain - about a 6 foot 12 inch man who isn't quite human, who is battling his fellow 'Sempitern', a Freak Show Ring Master called 'The Abominable Showman', who is planning to subjugate the Earth;

and a Horror/Fantasy called 'Softness Turns to Fury', with the Greek Goddess Nemesis as the baddie and an eighty year old comatose man as the hero.

I hope to have them done by the end of the year. Samples of both will hopefully be available here as PDFs. Fingers crossed!

I have been and always will be a huge fan of Roger Moore, Tony Curtis, Peter Wyngarde, Patrick Macnee - and most of the other ITC stalwarts! As well as Hywell Bennet, David Jason, Anthony Valentine, Patrick Allen - and loads more besides! In music I prefer people who can actually SING: such as John Denver, Glen Campbell, Neil Sedaka, Suzy Bogguss...

I have only recently decided to stop doing my 'ghost writing' for other people and co-authoring (but under various noms de plumes), and instead concentrate on doing my own thing my own way (which may be junk, I am not one to spout about myself!), which I shall be putting on here as and when. Please see below for works that are upcoming - and the link above for some that are available now.

Have a look around, see if there's anything you fancy, and maybe even buy a copy!

I'd be very grateful if you would read my novel (the hard hitting but hopefully humorous 'The Crack and The Snow'). Also here are two collections of short stories - 'The Singular Case of Sherlock Holmes and Jack The Ripper' and 'Faith - and Other Far Fetched Yarns' - all linked by Death, that universal friend of ours!

Paperback versions of all are available here at prices below the publisher's prices (with code ATHIRDOFF). Also available on the likes of Amazon's Kindle - for pennies! WELL worth a shufty for a few p!

Well, That's All Folks! (Copyright Warner Bros - used without permission! LOL! Oh, there I go again!)

Cheers
Derek x (No relation to Malcolm X)

The Rag and Bone Man

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