About me & my Journey into Writing

I am married, have three children and five grandchildren. We also have two fairly massive dogs (capriciously named Hank & Skyler as per the Breaking Bad characters). We hail from Troon on the Ayrshire Coast, probably most famous for hosting The Open Golf. Nowadays we spend a great deal of time at our place in Southern Spain, which is also by the coast and a great location for writing and playing golf.

My Early Days of Law

Educated at Strathclyde University, I graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Business Studies (BA) and a Bachelor of Laws (LLB). To be honest, I was never likely to have a career which had anything to do with numbers. To this day I still consider it a minor miracle that I managed to pass the accounts exam paper when securing my law degree. No, I have always been more comfortable with the written word.

Making my Way in the Legal Profession

Having graduated I started working for a legal practice in Glasgow’s city centre, before setting up my own law business with a colleague. While I was involved on a daily basis with various aspects of the law, I always had a fascination for criminal defence work and, as the years went by, I was involved in a number of high-profile jury trials. In reality it is not quite as glamorous a profession as depicted on television and the big screen, but nevertheless, I found it totally captivating! To this day, when looking to watch a film, I am always drawn to a court drama.

For personal health reasons I had no choice but to retire from law and I sold my legal practice. Before long I needed to find alternative employment.

A New Career Adventure in the Travel Industry

The stark reality hit me that I did not possess any other work skills. Somewhat whimsically I decided that I would have a stab at the travel industry, at least I was acquainted with the basic elements of the business. So, I duly converted my garage into an office, advertised my services and waited for the phone to ring - and it did. Fast forward a good few years and I found myself at the helm of a nationwide travel company, operating exclusively in the luxury market and providing holidays to virtually, the world over.

My Writing Journey Begins...

It was about this time that I embarked on my writing career. I had experienced so many hilarious moments when working in the travel trade, specifically when travelling overseas. Mishaps and chaos seemed to follow me around! I felt like a cross between Mr Bean and Basil Fawlty as one misadventure followed another, usually with ensuing mayhem.

It was on a ‘fly-and-flop’ family holiday to Florida, when in typical impulsive fashion, I decided I wanted to share my humorous experiences with the wider world. In any event, I was never one for aimless sunbathing, my mind was always too active. I very vividly recall striding purposefully to the nearest supermarket and purchasing an A4 lined notepad and two pens. Armed with the necessary tools I returned to my sun-lounger and allowed my creative juices to flow. And so, A Suitcase of Adventures was spawned.

Securing My First Publishing Deal

Having then completed my manuscript, there was the small matter of procuring a publisher. My first port of call was to purchase a book specifically dealing with overcoming this very hurdle. Early on in this book the author very kindly managed the readers’ expectations. To this very day I can recall his cautionary message, word for word: “Statistically only 0.01% of first-time authors manage to secure a publishing contract.”

My personal make-up is such that I viewed this as the door being open, even if only the slightest fraction ajar. Due to unstinting determination and a ‘never-say-die’ attitude, within a mere three months I had managed to secure a publishing contract from a company in central London. Not only that, after my book was published, I was then offered a contract for a sequel.

Embarking on Poetry

Having ticked that particular box, I then tried my hand at writing poetry, more often than not with humorous undertones. I was encouraged by winning a couple of poetry competitions. I found this to be a very enjoyable pursuit and opted to publish a book of children’s poems entitled The Underdogs. It represents a collection of poems, all with the same moral running through them, namely of being comfortable in one’s own skin, and not to be constantly striving to be someone or something else.

Winning the Reader's Digest Short Story Competition 2024

Always looking for a new challenge, I then started writing short stories and to whet my competitive appetite, I entered the Readers Digest Short Story Competition 2024, along with several thousand other contestants. I was both surprised and thrilled in equal dollops to be chosen as the outright winner.

Delving into Writing Crime Novels

Not surprisingly, my next challenge lay just around the corner. Like so many others, I always had a hankering to write a crime novel. I am a huge fan of psychological thriller author Rachel Abbott and I'd go as far as to say that her works inspired and influenced my journey into crime writing. I was particularly interested in encompassing an engrossing courtroom drama. Having been involved in a number of high-profile jury trials, I was obviously able to take advantage of my professional experience in order to enhance and add credibility to the storyline. Whatever it Takes is a tense and thrilling legal crime drama set in London, which I self-published in November 2023. I’m really grateful for the great reviews and my current 4.8* star rating on Amazon.

Having thoroughly enjoyed writing this novel, somewhat like London buses, another one was in the pipeline. On this occasion the setting was Glasgow, a city I obviously know very well. As before, this storyline culminates in a tense courtroom drama. This last offering was entitled One Sad Day and has all the necessary ingredients for a gripping story: a hit-and-run, armed robbery, blackmail, jury tampering and a compelling trial. Again, I self-published this novel in March 2025 and I'm delighted that to date, it has all 5* reviews on Amazon.

Finally, I am incredibly excited about my latest legal crime drama, which I’m just in the process of penning! The Dandelion Effect, is a powerful emotional drama, with a tense legal struggle playing out in the background. A family of four, living a normal life, in an idyllic coastal village in East Yorkshire have their lives turned upside down when one of the parents is charged with the sexual assault of their child.

I take readers on a harrowing journey, depicting the shattered lives and dreams of this normal family, the breakdown of a loving couple, the harshness of a perceived ‘tight, close and idyllic’ community and the brutal legal process together with its impact on everyone involved. And all because of one life changing sentence, uttered by a seven-year-old. Keep your eyes peeled on my website for when this book will be released!

All the very best,

Brendan x