Books: The Miraculous Music of Clara Martinelli; The Museum of Confiscated Property; The Certain Guilt of an Innocent Man; The Best Guitarist in the World & other Tales of the Unexpected. Competitions: Yeovil Literary Prize (Novel) – highly commended Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award 2010 – quarterfinalist Writers’ Forum Short Story Competition – winner Brit Writers Short Story Competition – finalist Fish Publishing Short Story Competition – shortlist I grew up in Central Africa before and after the break-up of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland in the 50s and 60s. I was despatched to boarding school in England when the demands for education in post-independence Zambia stretched education resources so thin that standards in state schools slipped to a level unacceptable to my parents. I studied Philosophy and Economics at Oxford University. I have never been comfortable in institutions or large organisations. I couldn’t bring myself to be an employee, so I’ve always owned my own businesses. This has set limits to what I could so – ie I have a Masters degree in Development Economics but never managed to practice that. I chose the world of design, furniture making and construction (mainly interiors – such as shops, theatres, clubs, museums, houses), and built up a company employing around 100 people. As a young man I was averse to owning property and disapproved of the landlord class, so I spent quite a few years squatting in Notting Hill and North Kensington. We established a short-life housing co-op and came to an arrangement with North Kensington Housing Association to occupy the houses they weren’t ready to refurbish. In my 20s and 30s I travelled quite a bit, mainly in Africa, but also in the US and Europe. In three trips I completed Cairo to Cape overland, hitchhiking and travelling by public transport. This was in the 70s and 80s, so I passed through Eritrea during the civil war, I was followed by Ethiopian secret police in the last year of Selassie’s reign, and I hitched through the war zone of Zimbabwe. I suppose I’m an optimist, always looking for solutions rather than dwelling on problems, but I’m also a worrier, a planner, wanting to make sure there are no loose ends. I gave up my business partnership a few years ago and split my time between freelance consultancy work and writing fiction.