© Richard D. Handy
A little bit about me …
I went to a comprehensive school during the 1970s and my overactive imagination was
fuelled by reading books about the natural world, war and human endurance. I wrote
my first short story at the age of fifteen; then seeking adventure I learnt how to
shoot a rifle, read a map and survive outdoors -
I hated the idea of working in an office; so it was a toss up between the army and biology. I eventually studied the latter. After graduating from Birmingham University, I moved to Scotland where I spent the next ten years climbing mountains, SCUBA diving, and making a living as a marine biologist. I found I was good at science, especially the writing and creative thinking part, and after years of scientific writing and teaching others how to write I took up the art of fiction.
My writing is of course influenced by the places, people and cultures I have experienced.
I’ve been lucky enough to travel extensively to remote places in Alaska, parts of
Canada, the Arctic Circle via Norway, the Bahamas, India, the Sinai desert in Egypt,
other parts of Africa. I’ve met some interesting people in Washington, London, Berlin,
Iraq and elsewhere -
What I like to read ...
It’s a bit of a mixture. I love reading non-