Suctioncup

The author is a proud Scot raised on that jewel set on a mystic sea, Ardrossan, in the fine county of Ayrshire, on the west coast of Scotland.He once studied Applied Physics but, discovering atoms weren't as exciting as folk made them out to be, sought adventure with Strathclyde Police. He got more than he bargained for in a career that began in Glasgow's most deprived and violent communities where he was a beat cop, plain clothes, firearms, public order and specialist search officer. He was also a crisis and hostage negotiator and a Professional Standards investigator. His career inevitably included less exciting but equally stressful posts. In 1994 he received a Chief Constable's High Commendation for bravery.A student of the University of Glasgow, he graduated with a MLitt Creative Writing with Distinction. He has written a number of short stories and articles for a variety of magazines and published a radio play for Hospital Radio. Now a honorary Glaswegian, he's a proud grandparent, married with a son and two daughters, and can be seen on cold rain-lashed winter nights walking Jasper their Australian Labradoodle. He never ever wanted a dog.Since leaving the police thoughts have turned to the earlier years of his service and the people and events of that time. Of a Glasgow changed for the better, of a style of policing that has all but disappeared and taking the attitudes that came with it. The squalid slums have gone, the rancid tower blocks are disappearing, but so are the distinctive communities that once characterised those areas. Not all change is for the better and in gaining something, something is inevitably lost. 'The Corsairs' is his debut novel.