A Little About The Author

Hi all,

Welcome to my blog, I’m excited to share this journey with you. My name is Bobby, author of The Raeven and the Prince of Shadows. My very first novel and my very first attempt at indie publishing. She gulps! 

I live in Suffolk with my eldest and youngest sons. We have three cats and a gecko. My daughter and my three grandsons live nearby. I moved to Suffolk, six years ago, to be nearer to my daughter, and to help with childcare. I originally come from Kent, living in Rochester, close to my other two children, who stayed behind. Yep that’s Five children in all! We’re not your typical family, all of us are neurodivergent, but when we get together we have so fun and there is always lots of laughter.   

Anyway here’s the walk down memory lane.

My fascination for words began in childhood. Before I ever set foot in a classroom, I had already taught myself to read, finding refuge in stories during a childhood marked by pain and deprivation. My love of books followed and at six years old, my favourite book was the Ladybird book Cinderella. My passion for reading grew from there, as did my imagination, and my obsession for writing. At nine years old I entered a writing competition and won a horseshoe. My Grandfather painted it gold and made a wooden plaque to mount it on. I was so proud of my horseshoe. I treasured the plaque for many years until it was lost during a house move.

As a child, I devoured every book I could get my hands on. At eight years old I remember the book fairs, that visited my catholic school each year. My first book selection were The Armada Ghost Book

series, and over the next few years, the childhood classics; Black Beauty, The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, The Railway Children and more. At eleven years old, just before I started secondary school, (High school as it is known in Suffolk) I discovered my first “Adult Read”…… To Kill a Mocking Bird. This was to be one of my favourite books for many years, until I found Jamaica Inn, another well-loved classic.

Many more books would soon become treasured companions, their spines creased and covers worn from love, including books by; Daphne De Maurier, Stephen King, Dean Koontz, Richard Laymon, John Francome, Dick Francis, Raymond E. Feist and later Harlan Coben…… I could go on and on. I read so many different genders over the years.

As you can tell, books excite me as much as writing. They all require one ingredient…… imagination!

And I had plenty of that! Much of my childhood was spent wandering the world inside my own mind, where I was always the lead character in stories that shifted from horror to romance, from fantasy to anything my imagination conjured. Those tales lived within me, and I lived within them. With a difficult childhood pressing in around me, it was no wonder I sought refuge in those worlds, places where, at last, I could shape the story.

Throughout my adult life, I worked many jobs, yet I never lost my passion for books, for writing, and for imagining worlds where I could finally become the person I longed to be. But about ten years ago, I set it all aside. I stopped reading, stopped writing, and stopped dreaming. I was burnt out and didn’t realise.

Before I moved to Suffolk I worked as a nurse in the community for Rapid Response. When I moved, I became a Complex Discharge Nurse Specialist. Nursing was a vocation and I loved every bit of it. I found deep meaning in supporting patients and their families. But two years ago, illness forced me to step back. I’d worked two jobs through lockdown, and my job role underwent major transformations. I was exhausted, burnt out and in need of change.

I was off sick for several months and this gave me time to recover and re-evaluate my life choices. As much as I loved caring for the frail and elderly, I knew I couldn’t go on as I was. I had tried to ease the burden by reducing my hours, but that attempt had already failed.

Reluctantly, I chose early retirement and resigned myself to quiet days at home. That was until my daughter pressed a book into my hands ….. just one. But one became two, then three, and soon my long-lost passion for reading returned… and with it, the joy of writing. My imagination that had been dormant all this time awoke and the rest is history.

If you’ve journeyed with me this far, fantastic! I’m so glad you’re here. I invite you to step into the world of my imagination, where stories breathe and characters come alive. I hope you’ll walk beside me through these pages, share in the wonders and the struggles, and perhaps even find a piece of yourself within my words.