My latest incarnation as a writer, after teenage scribbling and academic worthiness, began with fiction. In recent times this has taken a back seat but there is enough work in the bag, and ideas for future projects, to make it an enduring interest.

Two books are awaiting completion when my current non-fiction phase ends. The first is Flagfall, a novel set around the time of the British withdrawal from Hong Kong in 1997. Based partly on personal experience it is ambitious in structure and introduces a character for whom I have bigger plans. The link on the right explains more, while the image above dates from the period in question. It is from the painting Tea in the Bamboo Forest by the Chinese artist Ma Yanzi, who trained in Sichuan and developed a style that combines traditional and western themes and techniques.

The other string to my fictional bow is short story writing, examples of which can also be accessed to the right of this page. Some of my work has been published  and received praise for the quality of its prose. A few more stories are needed before I have enough to justify a collection, and I envisage returning to the form alongside a resumption of the novel. It can act as a welcome distraction from the hard slog of a longer project , drip-feeding the pleasure of completion at times when stamina and morale begin to wane.