I’m a British novelist who writes literary historical fiction.

In 2024 I published We Are Made, the first novel in a series (also titled We Are Made) exploring the lives of ordinary people caught up in the sweep of geopolitics over the past century.

I was born in 1960, in north London. The first words I wrote for public consumption were punk rock lyrics.

More than thirty years spent covering international news as a video journalist for the Reuters news agency taught me that geopolitics will never leave us alone.

More about me.

The We Are Made series is a sequence of literary historical novels exploring the effects of geopolitics on the lives of ordinary people, from the inter-war years of the 20th century onwards.

The first novel in the series, We Are Made, was published in 2024. Set in 1938, the action moves between London and Francoist Spain.

The second novel in the series, The Rookwood Duty, is scheduled for publication in November 2026. It picks up the story in 1942, transporting readers from London to North Yorkshire and occupied France.

Both novels combine historical fiction with elements of espionage, political drama and tough moral choices.

My desire to write stems from the three decades I spent as a video journalist, including periods reporting from Iraq, Jerusalem and Hong Kong. That experience developed my interest in geopolitics and in the way international events affect individual lives.

I learned that ordinary people always come off worst when they’re caught up in the ambitions of those who shout the loudest.

This is as true today as it was in 1938, when We Are Made is set. Men, shouting… that pretty much sums up geopolitics for me.

We Are Made has been well received by readers and reviewers, who describe it as thoroughly engaging and praise its beautifully executed writing style.

‘Brilliantly creates the tension and the political divide of the late 1930s. Historical fiction fans will love this mix of espionage, crime, love and a little action.’ – Independent Book Review

‘A fantastic plot and a genuinely captivating writing style that will suck you in.’ – A Quintillion Words

‘Thought-provoking and thoroughly engaging.’ – Amazon Reviewer

‘Compellingly readable. Reminiscent of William Boyd at his best.’ – Amazon Reviewer

Readers should expect the We Are Made novels to deliver a literary take on the historical fiction genre, with themes exploring love, loyalty, duty, political conviction, family responsibility, friendship, betrayal and moral ambiguity.

The complex, turbulent world the characters inhabit is wrought by immense geopolitical forces. But individuals must resolve the challenges they face themselves.

All of us are shaped by the world around us, one character tells another in We Are Made. We are ‘made’, if you like. So it’s up to all of us to make the world a better place. Because the alternative never works out well for most ordinary people.

We Are Made is the first novel in the We Are Made series.

The story opens in Enfield, North London, in 1938, as William mourns his former teacher and mentor, killed fighting for the Republicans in Spain.

As Europe slides towards war, he abandons his dream of a life in academia to support his family by working in a factory manufacturing Spitfire parts.

And then he bumps into Elizabeth, an old school friend. It isn’t long before the pair are falling in love – but Elizabeth is no longer the girl he remembers.

Tragic consequences catapult him into the dangerous world of Franco’s Spain, where he must confront what it means to be civilised.

The Rookwood Duty is the second novel in the We Are Made series.

The story opens in 1942, as Elizabeth wrestles with the moral ambiguity of her latest MI5 assignment – rekindling a romance in order to spy on Rupert Rookwood, an indolent naval officer suspected of passing secrets to the Nazis.

As the operation takes her from blacked-out London to Rupert's terrifying ancestral home in Yorkshire, and on to the dangerous shores of occupied Brittany, Elizabeth uncovers a conspiracy that strikes uncomfortably close to her own family – and must decide how much of her soul she is willing to sacrifice to win the war.

Aloft is a novella available free to readers who sign up for my Readers’ Club.

A prequel to the We Are Made series, Aloft is set in 1918, and features the war artist father of Elizabeth Fay, Alton Fay, who is attached to an RAF reconnaissance squadron in northern France.

As a bitter offensive unfolds on the front line, Alton is drawn into the surprising lives and complex tragedies of the men he’s flying alongside.

The war to end all wars is changing everything at home. But, aloft in the maelstrom of aerial combat, the old ways still hold and scores must be settled.

We Are Made opens in early 1938, as the Spanish Civil War is approaching its final, tragic act. Totalitarianism is on the rise in Germany, Italy and the Soviet Union – but Great Britain seems paralysed and unable to offer any response other than appeasement.

By spring 1942, when The Rookwood Duty begins, Britain is still on the back foot, reeling from defeats in France, Norway, Hong Kong, Malaya and Singapore, and battered by the loss of thousands of merchant ships to the German navy.

The geopolitical stakes couldn’t be higher. But at the heart of both novels are ordinary people trying to make sense of it all. That’s where the real drama lies for me.

Throughout human history, ceaseless waves of geopolitics have shaped the world we live in. These vast forces sweep up everyone in their path.

As a journalist, I encountered people whose lives had been disrupted by the casual cruelty of geopolitics. The dignified resilience displayed by such people in the face of these forces was profoundly moving.

I found myself asking the same question over and over again: how do ordinary people live their lives in the midst of vast historical forces, when they have no idea how things will turn out?

Somehow, people find the hope to continue, despite the odds. And that is eternally fascinating.

We Are Made and The Rookwood Duty are perfect for fans of thoughtful, literary historical fiction that places people at the centre of a narrative rich in high-stakes drama and historical authenticity.

If you like Kate Atkinson, William Boyd, Barbara Kingsolver or Anthony Doerr, you’ll love the We Are Made novels.

The best way to get close to any historical subject matter is to expend some good, old-fashioned shoe leather!

For me, there’s no substitute for hanging around the locations of my novels, imagining all the people who have moved through these spaces before me.

Another technique I often use is reading non-fiction and fiction written during the time I’m writing about. It gives me a sharper sense of how people talked and what they were thinking about than a conventional history book.

I also love looking at historical photographs. Sometimes a tiny detail in the corner of a photograph will spark an exciting story idea!

We Are Made and The Rookwood Duty are available in ebook and paperback editions through a number of major book retailers including Amazon, Kobo, Apple Books, Nook and Google Play.

The Books page on this website contains links to the current editions and retailers.

Yes you can! Signed copies of my books are available directly from this website.

Please visit the Signed Copies page for further details.

You can join my Readers’ Club through the Readers’ Club page.

Members receive a free ebook edition of Aloft, together with occasional newsletters containing exclusive behind-the-scenes content about my historical research and other stuff I’m getting up to.

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