about

Hello

A report card from my schooldays once read as something like, “Phillip would achieve much better grades if he just answered the questions, rather than try to make a story out of everything.” I know that I shouldn’t really be proud of that – and my grades reflected as much – but I kind of am.

For as long as I can remember, going right back, I have always doodled and dreamed up ideas for stories and poems – I have sketchpads, notebooks and file boxes full of them – but it wasn’t until I was in my mid-twenties that I started to think about writing seriously. And now I am the author of two novels – The Reputation of Booya Carthy (2015 / reissued in 2025) and The Shame of John Slade (2024) – as well as a discarded novel and a bundle of short stories – mostly focussed on the comic, the twisted, and the absurd – which have featured in multiple anthologies. And yet I still don’t know if I have what it takes to be ‘a writer’, if I ever will . . .

To answer any more questions you might have, or if you’d just like to discover more, I hosted an informal, imaginary interview with myself:

How would you describe your writing style?
Of no fixed genre. I read a great variety of books and am inspired by most of them. I don’t think that I could write book-length non-fiction, but I would try anything if it feels right for the story I’m trying to tell. Humour is important to me no matter the story, so it must feature an element of that. Basically, I just like to make stuff up.

Where do you find your ideas?
From anywhere and everywhere; and all of the time, wherever I may be, or whatever I’m doing. But I am often too distracted to work on them. What I’m currently working on is working on that. However, I do make a lot of time for reading books and thinking about what I could do.

What tips would you give to someone who wanted to start writing?
Keep it simple. And keep reading – reading is almost more important than the writing. And keep believing that you can do it, because if you give up, you can’t.

What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?
Don’t pick your nose.

Anything else?
No.

When you’re not procrastinating, how do you spend your time?
Every day, I’m walked by a dog. We love to explore – the coast and caves, forests, rivers and lakes. Being outside is hugely important to me; it’s where most of my ideas take form. I mostly like views that have no manmade things in it, which are increasingly rare. I particularly like trees.

What other interesting things have you done in your working life?
I’m not sure that any I’ve done is interesting. As well as writing, I’ve also worked as an editor, a bookseller, and a purveyor of the finest recorded music – alongside the not-quite-so-good, like Cliff Richard. One of my first jobs was working in a cinema. So, books, music and film: who doesn’t love them? Maybe more indulgent than interesting.

What’s your handwriting like?

If we were to meet you, what are you like?
People who know me sometimes think that I’m quite confident, but I’m actually shy. I can, however, be confident in the third person. To be honest, you’d probably prefer the dog.