I am an optimistic cynic and dark fantasy author, based on the South Coast of New South Wales, Australia. My writing is primarily based in the magical, the spiritual, the religious and the arcane with tendencies towards horror, depravity and battles between light and dark. Above all, I try to tell a good yarn with my fiction but I would also like to make people think. Not enough people actually stop to think these days, to make informed decisions for themselves about everything from the brand of soap they buy to the version of deity they choose to believe in.

However, despite many reaffirmations that the large majority of people are complete idiots, I still meet enough good, honest, thoughtful people to maintain a healthy level of optimism. Sometimes it’s hard, but I struggle on. As well as my fiction writing, I’m a regular contributor to OpEd Magazine and FasterLouder.com.au. I’m a member of the Australian Horror Writers Association and The NSW Writers’ Centre.

This website serves two purposes really. One is the obvious shameless self-promotion where I can write about my writing. What more satisfying pastime for a writer is there than that? I publish short stories here (after they’ve been bought by someone else if I’m lucky), there’s a serialised novella available for nothing and I keep my legions of fans up to date on what’s happening with my novels and any of my other projects. Yes, there are legions of fans, if I say so, and you can’t prove otherwise.

The other use of this site is a blog where I can lampoon idiocy, especially the word abuse so prevalent in our society, and anything writing or story-related. Our world has been built on a foundation of story-telling, from the earliest creation myths to the modern parables found in books and movies, on television shows and the internet. These days story-telling is all around us in numerous mediums and I love them all.

My first novel, RealmShift, was published in early 2006 to considerable critical acclaim. You can learn all about that and read a number of reviews by clicking on the RealmShift button in the Navigation panel at the top of the sidebar on the left. I’m currently working on the sequel which I hope to have out before the end of the year, but this irritating thing called everyday life keeps sticking its nose into my plans and messing everything up.

The front cover of RealmShift

You can read some of my short stories and flash fictions on the Dark Shorts page. Again, see the Navigation panel, above left. I’ll update that as and when possible. I’m always shopping stories out to various magazines (online and print) in the hope that they’ll buy something and publish me. The things on the Dark Shorts page are stories that have been published in some form or other somewhere.

As for other things that fulfill my life, I’m a Personal Trainer and Kung Fu Instructor. Helping people to get themselves in shape and live longer, healthier lives is an extremely satisfying way to earn a living (because, believe me, writing alone doesn’t pay the bills just yet). I’ve been a martial artist for as long as I can remember and can’t imagine a life without Kung Fu. Check the Alan’s Other Passion button in the Navigation panel to learn more about that stuff.

This is me at the Choy Lee Fut Ancestral School, in King Mui, China

I also enjoy photography at an amateur level. I’m a huge music fan (by which I mean I really like music, not that I’m huge and a fan of music) and I play guitar. I was in a band for some years, but not any more. There’s simply not enough hours in a day or days in a week to do all the things that I’d like to do.

My band Boneshaker in the early ’90s. That’s me on the right.

I’m a keen motorcyclist too. There is no better way to travel as far as I’m concerned and no better way to see a place. I’ve done thousands of kilometres all over Australia and Europe. My next big plan is to ride across the Nullabor. It’s just one of those things that needs to be done.

The other love of my life, my beautiful Yamaha XJR1300

And finally I should mention my long-suffering, ever-supportive wife, Halinka. Why is this suddenly sounding like an acceptance speech at a Narcissists’ Convention? Other than publicly thanking Halinka for putting up with me, I also want to give her another free plug. She’s an outstanding artist and you can see her work on her website, linked in the Cool Places To Visit box on the left.

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