STEWART CLYDE

According to the bio on Goodreads: "I always wanted to be an author. I thought it would be good practice to get a job as a writer of some description. Being a journalist seemed as good preparation as any. It was good enough for Hemingway ... it would damn well be good enough for me.

Foreign correspondent was the aim. I got my first job writing for a local newspaper in South Africa at nineteen. Then, I studied International Relations to help me understand the world. I have always been fascinated by the intrigue and deception of international politics. The blend of using force and coercion. I wanted to be like the correspondent John Simpson.

But, the people in charge of newspapers wanted experience, a real, lived experience. Experience brings credibility. Foreign correspondents were sloggers. They'd done their time. Maybe I just wanted an adventure?

I decided to follow another dream I'd had. I joined the British Army. I went to the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and spent almost a decade in the Armed Forces. I've lived in eight countries, including the United States, Germany, Thailand and Scotland, and travelled to over forty. I never became a foreign correspondent, but I feel like I travelled more widely and lived in more places, than most journalists have.

I also have a background in martial arts, which I try to bring out in my stories. I've boxed as an amateur, done Muay Thai in Thailand, as well as, Wing Chun and Brazilian Ju-Jitsu. I have worked as a journalist, a lifeguard, a lecturer, a soldier, and in the corporate world. However, the best job is the one I always wanted. The one I wanted from the start -- being an author."