My Published Fiction Works
The disappearance of a friend and millions of Francs worth of wine interrupts David’s buying trip in France when he pauses to comfort and assist his friend’s wife, Catherine.
Their lives are threatened, the intensifying circumstances draw them closer together, and they uncover their buried traumas, insecurities and longings. This is a tale of mounting tensions, realisations and passions, woven through a gripping crime thriller on the Burgundy canals and in the French wine business of the 1980s.
“A compelling read which pulls us inside the French wine trade of thirty, forty and fifty years ago to experience a gripping crime thriller and a sweet romance.”
“Great insights. I learned so much about wine through this story.”
Reviewing restaurants is normally a safe pursuit, but Lorne and Catherine face torture and death when they try to unravel organised crime’s infiltration of the fine dining scene.
Their longstanding friendship deepens when they meet again seven months after she was widowed by murder. While they help each other work through their traumatic pasts, their passion and intimacy increase, and they’re unaware of the mounting danger until it’s almost too late. Their scramble to track down who is trying to kill them leads into the darker corners of the Internet, through a world of perversion and extreme body modification.
“This book so enchanted me I found it impossible to stop reading.”
“I loved the superb balance between the sweet romance and
the grotty world of their pursuers. Masterfully done.”
Now available on Amazon as both print and ebook.
Click here or on the cover image for more information.
Early in World War One, a young Canadian soldier is wounded and trapped behind German lines. He uses quick thinking and ingenuity to evade capture, then deeper into enemy territory, he meets a young woman who recently lost her father and brothers to the war. She takes him home to meet her mother, hoping he can help them escape back to their family roots in Switzerland. As they flee over the mountains, love blossoms and stirs old traumas. He's torn between following his heart and honouring his sworn duty.
This is a war story, but instead of being mired in blood and guts, it examines deeper issues of the human condition.
The envelope images on the cover of Posted As Missing are taken from my personal collection, and they inspired this story. I did some Photoshop manipulation to alter the soldier's name, initials and regimental number. He was posted as missing in April 1915 during the Second Battle of Ypres, a battle famous for the first use of chlorine gas in warfare and for John McCrae's penning of In Flanders Fields, the poem which was the origin of the poppy as the symbol of remembrance.
Now available on Amazon as both print and ebook.
Click here or on the cover image for more information.
My Fiction Works in Progress
Gianna doesn't know what she wants most - a husband, great sex or her own restaurant. She has just lost her job and kicked out her latest lover, so with her meagre savings, all three seem remote at the moment.
A lighthearted yet deeply serious look at an emerging relationship between an aromantic bi and a demisexual as they try to rescue a failing restaurant and sidestep a deranged ex.
The story is complete, and it's being fine-tuned on Wattpad, where it is currently free to read.
Click this link to enjoy: Hot Potato
Throughout this series of novels, the storylines are all woven closely with actual historic events and people. Although this is a piece of fiction, most of the geography and history in it are real. Many of the details and adventures in the Schwarzwald are based on my experiences there half a century later while serving with NATO in the 1960s. I began my research on this series of novels while sharing drinks with Ypres veterans in the Officers Mess of the British Columbia Regiment shortly after I retired in 1981.
Missing — During their escape, David had seen possibilities of sabotage and ways to assist with the war. Torn by his love for Maria, he struggles with his need to return to the fighting. His honour finally wins, and he conceives a sabotage plan that convinces the Army to use him to run covert operations into Germany from Switzerland. This volume ends as David leaves Maria in Switzerland to head to England for training.
This sequel is complete, and it's in its final fine-tuning and polishing phase. You can assist by offering feedback and commentary on Wattpad.
Back in Action — Volume three of the story follows David's training, his return to Switzerland and to Maria and to the beginning of his sabotage and espionage missions.
This sequel is also complete, and it's in its final fine-tuning and polishing phase. You can assist by offering feedback and commentary on Wattpad.
Watching Fritz — Volume four of the story follows David's espionage missions into the industrial heartland of Germany as he juggles greater responsibilities and a love of Maria which has matured.
This sequel is also complete, and it's in its final fine-tuning and polishing phase. You can assist by offering feedback and commentary on Wattpad.
Valentine's Dinner? — Set in an environment of extreme wealth in contemporary London, this is a story of tender new love trying to flourish while a tragic past conspires to destroy. As Valentine's Day approaches, two lonely people begin breaking out of their social shells.
Valerie has been celibate since she was drugged and raped, and she now concentrates on three things; running her corporate empire, guiding her inquisitive daughter through puberty, and volunteering in the community.
Lorne is still grieving a fiancée who died years before, but when he meets Valerie in a charity soup kitchen, his dormant desires stir. Unaware of her identity, he takes a bold step and invites her to Valentine's Day dinner.
Their relationship escalates with blinding speed and all the comforts of a billionaire lifestyle, but the bliss is interrupted when pornographic photos of Valerie flood the internet. She wants to crawl back into her shell. What does Lorne want?
Another complete story which is being fine-tuned. You can assist by offering feedback and commentary on Wattpad.
The Delfe Treasure — Aldrick is obsessed with finding his grandfather's treasure. More than half a century and seventeen voyages have failed to locate his ships after they wrecked in Windward Passage, deeply-laden with pirate plunder and homeward-bound from the Caribbean in 1679.
Elizabeth, the firstborn of Baron Leigh, was raised in Warwickshire, about as far from the sea as is possible in Britain. Recently betrothed to Aldrick, she doesn't want him to sail out of her life.
Another complete story which is being fine-tuned. You can assist by offering feedback and commentary on Wattpad.
Zeelandia — Camille disguises herself to gain a position as the captain's cabin boy aboard a ship bound for the Caribbean in 1676. She soon discovers her natural urges, and her feelings must be expressed as a young boy looking at a father figure, not as a smitten young lady of eighteen.
The first portion of this novel was named Round One Winner in the 2020 Open Novella Contest, and it was selected for the Shortlist. Now expanded to a full-length novel, it is complete and entered in the Wattys.
Another complete story which is being fine-tuned. You can assist by offering feedback and commentary on Wattpad.