Overview
The success of these books brought many very different people to my door; first came the celebrities from the worlds of film, music, television and sport, and then the real elite in the form of world leaders and the mysterious, powerful people who finance them, arm them and, in some cases, control them.
As well as using traditional publishers to reach readers, I have also published my own fiction, most recently “Secrets of the Italian Gardener”, which draws on my experience among the powerful and wealthy, and "Pretty Little Packages", a thriller set in the world of people trafficking and sex slavery. Both novels have ghostwriters as their narrators.
My books on writing include “Ghostwriting”, (A&C Black) and “The Freelance Writer’s Handbook”, (Piatkus), which has been reprinted eight times over twenty years and a memoir, “Confessions of a Ghostwriter” (Friday Project).
Throughout his bestseller, “The Ghost”, Robert Harris quotes my book, “Ghostwriting”. Harris’s book went on to become a major movie by the same name, directed by Roman Polanski and starring Ewan McGregor as the eponymous ghost. The opening lines in Robert Harris’s book sum up my philosophy:
“Of all the advantages ghosting offers, one of the greatest must be the opportunity that you get to meet people of interest”.
I was on the Management Committee of the Society of Authors from 2012 to 2015. I lecture on the subject of making a living from writing at Kingston University and frequently guest at writing workshops, such as the Guardian Masterclasses, literary festivals and in the media.
Services
Non-Fiction
Languages
Work experience
Self Employed
Freelance writer, author and ghostwriter for 40 years.