Since moving to the UK over twenty years ago, I have been involved in making Britain’s history work commercially on behalf of clients like the National Trust and several departments of the British government. Through my ‘day job’, I’ve developed a keen understanding of the social, economic and political forces that drive human endeavour time and again across the centuries. This, combined with my love of history, has led me to choose subjects for my writing which reflect the unique nature of my work. I can only hope that I’ve translated my knowledge of Britain’s heritage into my writing in a way that is both entertaining and educational.

Like many authors, my writing career has taken off at a snail’s pace. After living for five years in France until 1974, I returned to New York and began working in luxury hotel development. In 1984, I had my first book published for young adults in North America entitled France: The Crossroads of Europe. About ten years ago, once my financial obligations to my family were under control, I began writing again. They say that you need to write about what you know; and since I knew about powerful people and history – and adored British history – I decided that this should be my primary focus. The emphasis I tend to make on ‘power and greed’ gives me a fresh perspective, I hope, in exploring the kinds of histories that have resonance with us today. They show how we are essentially not so very different from our ancestors, or to use the French adage, plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose (the more it changes the more it stays the same). The histories I have written, and want to continue to write, are those with this ‘fresh perspective’ that show why people do what they do in the context of their relationships and their times. Human motivation, rather than facts and figures are the staple diet of my stories.

The result of this focus was my first published book since 1984, The Sancy Blood Diamond (John Wiley & Sons, 2004). This gave me the confidence to investigate history from original sources, as well as reading what other authors have written more recently. My subsequent book, The Pirate Queen – Queen Elizabeth I, Her Pirate Adventurers, and the Dawn of Empire (HarperCollins, 2007) tells the familiar tale of the nascent British Empire from the perspective of why it happened in the way it did. The Pirate Queen has since been released as an e-book, audio-book, and paperback in the USA. For more information on The Pirate Queen, including reviews, please click on the link: www.the-pirate-queen.com.

2008 was a busy year for me: aside from researching my next book project in a difficult publishing market, I’ve agreed to act as  Membership Secretary & Treasurer of The Biographers’ Club (www.biographersclub.co.uk) and have been appointed Chief Executive Officer of The British Shakespeare Association (www.britishshakespeare.org), a Registered Charity in England and Wales with the primary object of fostering a better understanding of Shakespeare and his works for all to enjoy. As I update this webpage, I’m also an associate producer with Wild Thyme Productions, working on several film and TV projects.

Though born in California, I lived in New York and the Midwest USA before moving to Europe, where I have lived most of my adult life. I spent just over five years in France, twelve years in New York, and now over twenty years in England. I’m a dual national (British and American). I’m fluent in French, and, can read Italian, Spanish (and Latin... slowly... very slowly). I’m married to a Scot (or would he be English according to resident Scots, living as he does in England?), and have three grown boys.