"Not another rock story!"

When government scientist Sam Trent and police Inspector David Jennings are called to investigate the mysterious deaths of fourteen cows at a dairy farm, they are confronted with little more than viscous sludge.

The government responds with a quarantine, but 100,000 teenagers are determined to reach the infected area, amongst them Jennings’ daughter…

This trailer introduces my new book, Harvest of minds, but how did the story get started?

‘Not another rock story’ was my wife’s initial reaction when I presented her with the first draft of A china key. I thought this was a little unfair. Firstly, because I have never written a book about geology and secondly, because I was actually quite pleased with the outcome.

However, as I patiently waited for her verdict, I had an idea for a very personal Christmas present for the following year. I would write a book that was much more to her reading tastes.

Despite her initial exclamation, it turned out that she really liked A china key and in particular the characters of Jennings and Morton. I had a brief flirtation with creating a second Jennings story but decided that he was too closely tied into the Connections series. ‘Not another rock story’ required something completely different. As usual, I wrote an outline of the plot and its characters and decided that it should be a contemporary story.

I began writing in 2010 in the run up to the General Election. One of the hot issues concerned a future referendum on membership of the EU. Having spent many years living and working in other European Countries, I was only too aware of the stark contrast between how the British viewed the European Union and how other countries saw it.

I then decided to set my story just a few years in the future and include my personal view on the likely the outcome of any future vote. In the meantime, I thought of a way to include a Jennings style character and settled on his youngest son.

Finally, a note on how the book turned out. As any author knows, characters tend to take on a life of their own. In many ways, they write the plot, not a mere author. This story proved not to be the one I originally intended, but I am pleased to say that I did finish it in time to give to my wife on Christmas Eve and, with a few suggestions, she enjoyed it. I hope you will, too.

Harvest of minds will is now available for pre-order. To find out more, please visit the home page.