I was seven years old when my teacher asked me, “What would you like to do when you grow up?” I can still recall my reply to the word; “I want to be an author. I want to write books.” Little did I know that I would do just that.

I have written three novels, two novellas, a full-length play, a collection of poetry, a children’s songbook, four school nativity musicals for Key stage one children and three school musicals for Key Stage 2 children and an academic thesis. I have also written hundreds of sets of lyrics as a singer/songwriter. I have another children’s book coming out next year and I am also working on my first non-fictional book about my travels through five deserts on five continents and how the space that the desert brings has forced me to look inside and address my own depression and the loss of my parents. I am also deep into my third novel, which will be called The Man Who Made Them Happy and is set in the Shetland Isles.

For a long time a number of themes have popped up in my writing; Grief – the ways in which we deal with losing someone; the issue of fathers and sons and how they communicate; childhood – what does it mean to be a child?

Also very important to me is location. I have set my tales in places which speak to my heart but also help to tell the story (almost like another character). My work has been set in New Zealand, Cape Horn in South America, The Arabian Desert and St David’s the smallest city in the UK.

Poetry plays a crucial role in my life. I have written many verses about a number of subjects and I have developed a good online presence with thousands of followers who offer me friendship and support.

All my books can be purchased directly here, and every copy will be personally signed.

Silence & Songbirds £5.99

Tane is like any other Maori boy, until a traumatic event in his life renders him mute and withdrawn. Forced to live with the strict disciplinarian Grandma Ann on an isolated island, without love or affection, Tane eventually finds companionship from a tui – a little bird whose remarkable voice seems to speak to him. Then, one day, love comes back into his life in the shape of a young English girl who has been washed ashore on the island. As their friendship blossoms among the hills of ferns, Tane has to choose between what he loves and what is right.

Silence and Songbirds is a tale about love, loss and the mysteries which appear in their presence. A story to pull at the heart strings.

‘A beautifully written, evocative tale of love and loss. A coming of age story that demonstrates the positive power of friendship, in whatever guise it manifests itself. Sad and joyous, Tane’s thoughts and feelings are as complex and colourful as his surroundings.’
Eva Jordan, author of 183 Times A Year

 

Good Grief: Five Deserts in Search of My Father and I £5.99 (COMING SOON)

Following the death of his father from cancer in 2017, author Jon Lawrence embarked on five mammoth treks through five deserts on five continents to raise money for The Big C cancer charity. The treks forced Jon to face his grief and depression, while helping him understand his sometimes difficult relationship with his father. Good Grief follows Jon as he walks through the Atacama, Sahara,  Rangipo, Wadi Rum and Mojave deserts as he grapples with seering temperatures, altitude sickness and a damaged shoe.

Good grief is a poignant, yet humorous account of one man’s journey to find his way through his grief and mental illness, to find his father and, in doing so, himself. It’s a story which will make you laugh, cry and think, from the author of The Jack Newton Radio, Playing Beneath the Havelock House and Silence and Songbirds.

“Moving and uplifting” – lovereading.co.uk

 

The Music Man’s Songbook 2 £10.00

Following the success of The Music Man’s Songbook, here is Volume II. This collection of original children’s songs, comes with a sing-a-long CD in a beautifully illustrated book, with artwork by Christopher Skinner. The book includes new favourites such as The Tickle Man and Hot Sand, which will have your child singing and dancing along.

The Music Man’s Songbook £10.00

This is a collection of songs for preschool children in a beautifully illustrated book. These silly songs were written for the children of the nurseries and preschools I visit regularly, to make them laugh, to make them sing and to make them dance. The next volume of children’s songs is due for release in early 2019.

Silence & Songbirds

This novella was inspired by my time in the Marlborough Sounds in New Zealand. I fell in love with the Tui, a small bird with a sublime ability to mimic sounds. This short story tells the tale of a mute Maori boy (Tane), living on an isolated island with his harsh grandmother following the death of his parents. His life is given meaning again when he befriends a little bird who seems to give voice to his feelings. The boy’s need for love and physical contact is met by the arrival of a castaway girl, whose runaway boat is washed up on the island. It’s a story which looks at love and grief from a child’s point of view. The book is due for release late 2019.

The Jack Newton Radio £5.99

Eccentric Welshwoman Anwyn Jones, returns to her hometown of St David’s following the death of her husband. As her memory begins to deteriorate she fears losing all recollections of her departed, but makes friends with a fractured family coming to terms with their own issues which threaten to destroy the family forever. Yet within sight of the guiding light of the lighthouse friendships are made, souls are reconnected and hope is found.

Bisha £5.99

Set in the Arabian Desert during World War One, this novella tells the story of a cartographer(Peter Carter) who becomes lost in a sandstorm and is rescued by Bedouin tribespeople. Peter is nursed back to health by the Bedouin but falls in love with chief’s daughter. Bisha looks at honour and love.

The Wallflower Café £5.99

Bella is an agoraphobic book addict. She lives above the bookstore which she runs in London. She has experienced her whole life through the written word but a chance meeting with Jamie, outside The Wallflower Café next to her book store, offers a chance to experience real love. This was my first full-length play.

Playing Beneath the Havelock House £5.99

This book tells the tale of two grieving parents who emigrate to New Zealand to try to come to terms with the grief of losing their child and to save their marriage. Both come upon two children in the town of Havelock and find love, friendship and the strength to live again.

Albatross Bay £5.99

Cape Horn, the southern-most point of the Americas, is the setting for this poignant novella about a boy seeking his grieving father’s love in the most isolated of places. This is my most personal piece, one that I am proud of.

The Pastoral £5.99

A semi-fictional account of the friendship between composers Ralph Vaughan Williams and George Butterworth during the Great War, this was my first novel…