Welcome!
With each of my novels, five so far, I explore a different subject in a different setting, so with each you will get fresh insights, definitely not yet another re-work of an established formula.
My characters, fully fleshed out personalities assembled from a lifetime of observation of my fellow humans, are placed on challenging situations, facing dilemmas with choices that will determine not only their own fate, but that of their loved ones and wider society.
Using satire, pathos and humour, I explore the nature of mankind and how we are shaped by politics, technology and the natural world, the dystopias we might create and how we might escape.
No Free Speech for Hate
A few years from now the United Kingdom has broken up, the monarchy abolished, and English society is dominated by the universities, new centres of power in the land, a power as great as the medieval Church and suppressing heresy against the new woke creed as zealously as Stalin’s secret police, dissenters banished to gulags, to protect the public from dangerous hateful influences.
Suitability for university education is not determined by academic prowess, rather by knowledge of and adherence with the new creed of flexible genders and intersectional categories. Almost every occupation, from waste disposal operatives to cleaners, has been made into a graduate profession, excluding those deemed Educationally Unsuitable from almost all legitimate jobs.
An attempt to ban jingoistic and militarist Remembrance Day commemoration sparks revolt among those excluded from university education and employment for lack of sympathy with the new ethos, leading to a populist right-wing insurrection, restoration of the monarchy and purging bastions of the old regime’s power, the universities.
To Keep Us All Safe
A deadly Chimapox pandemic has forced the country into lockdown, enforced by zealous vigilante volunteers. Jim exiled back to England to stay with his uncle and aunt after years in Vietnam, after finding employment with the Vestral corporation and finding his own lodgings must now contend with his interfering landlady, Marjorie, who curbs his companionship with housemate Alfie. With the strict lockdown in place, Jim struggles to meet lover Lily, member of a coven of witches.
Seen by Marjorie as a ruse to break lockdown, Jim has a permit as carer for his uncle and aunt and for their allotment, which Jim finds ransacked, the produce robbed, exposing them to food shortages arising from pandemic panic buying.
Jim, evading lockdown and security guards, slips into St Christopher’s Knoll, an exclusive gated community for the super-rich including the sumptuous home of Sir Albyn Denbald, head of the Vestral corporation, observing him in a secret tryst.
Disillusioned by censorship in mainstream social media, Jim allies himself with the Truth Seekers, anti-vax conspiracy theorists characterising Denbald as an arch-villain deploying mass vaccination for world domination.
Believing Lily to be held by Denbald, Jim enlists the Truth Seekers to kidnap Denbald. Exploiting Denbald’s secret tryst, Jim dissuades him from pressing charges.
The Glastonbury Triangle
Journalist Simon, reporting on the Knights of Camelot theme park run by an eccentric Marquess, is drawn into a tangle of intrigue, witchcraft, alternative lifestyles, mythology and secret technology as he investigates mysterious disappearances in Glastonbury, including his new girlfriend, Jenny.
On Jenny’s trail, Simon joins Abballon, a female dominated community inspired by worship of the goddess Gaia, where the role of men is to serve obediently, modern technology is banned and all must obey the tyrannical ruler, Philomena.
Cast out from Abballon, Simon uncovers a fiendish plot by a deranged scientist to transform abducted people into mythical creatures, from centaurs to satyrs, intended to populate the Marquess’s new Mythological Magick theme park. Will Simon be able to rescue Jenny in time to prevent her metamorphosis into a mermaid?
"This is the second book I've read by this author, and I was not disappointed. What another great story that had me completely engaged. We follow Simon, who is a journalist. He finds himself attracted to Jenny, who is keen to explore an alternative way of life led by following principles of Gaia as mother earth. Jenny ends up joining a commune, and Simon dutifully follows. Before we know what is happening, Simon finds a hidden danger at the hands of a mad scientist. Can he thwart the nefarious plot and save himself and Jenny?"
— Rozanne
"I loved the merged genres and how Ford neatly weaves them together to make a novel that is not only enjoyable but readable and believable. All in all if you love modern fantasy and science fiction that is grounded in a strong sense of reality this one is definitely for you."
— Siobhain (What You Tolkien About)
Walking out of this World
Emerging from the mid-October drizzle, Miles joins keen members of the Far and Fast Walkers Society in the Surrey Hills. An unnerving presence, he soon usurps the authority of the walk leader, enticing the party to Miteby, a mysterious village not on any map, where the walkers encounter long lost loved ones. Entranced, the group are compelled to return to this idyllic, nostalgic place, there re-living their past in better ways.But Miles has a nemesis, Lucifix, who intervenes, luring people to the Underside, where life’s fears, regrets, guilty secrets, obsessions, hatred and betrayal haunt those there. A place of hellish eternal torment.
Walking out of this World is an epic duel between two spirits, Miles and Lucifix, that will determine the fate of the walkers. Another original and engaging novel from Stephen Ford, following Destiny of a Free Spirit, about how we can heal our pasts or live trapped in our own shadows.
"Walking Out of This World was a really interesting read and while it was below 300 pages it manages to pack quite a lot in. It’s hard to fit this book into a box or rather genre. I’d say it’s almost like a Narnia but with a little less magic and focusing on a group of adults but it’s almost more than that as well."
— Siobhain (What You Tolkien About)
Destiny of a Free Spirit
In the far future, after a nuclear war, the world is separated into two realms, each under the protection of the all-powerful Commission. In Ecologia mammoths, wolves and sabre cats roam the world of Stone Age people, while Economica is populated by modern people enjoying technological convenience, complete with robots that serve every need. In Ecologia the Commission is worshiped as a deity, but in Economica it is resented as an obstructive and unaccountable bureaucracy.
When Peter finds a portal between these realms, he illicitly sets up a life for himself in both worlds, knowing that he is in danger.
But like everyone else he has no idea what the Commission really is, and when Peter’s friend, Simon, figures it out and is silenced by sinister forces, Peter’s questions about his future only become more complicated. His quandary exacerbated by the imminent closure of the portal, Peter has to make a choice about where he belongs; a choice that will be the most important he’s ever made.
Raising questions about what we mean by ‘nature’, ‘humanity’ and life itself, Destiny of a Free Spirit is a compelling debut that will keep you guessing till the end.
I'm absolutely blown away by the thought provoking story that made me think (like the blurb says) about what it means to be human. I found the depth of thought to be so profound that I laid awake pondering it for far longer than I should. And for me, that's why this book is a 5 🌟
— Charlotte Bug
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My Thoughts on Things
This is where you can find my latest writings, whether they be my novels, five so far, or postings on Medium and Instagram, add yourself to my mailing list or contact me to discuss anything I have written or posted online. My novels are: Destiny of a Free Spirit,...
As a writer myself, so far (five novels published so far) I have always had a male lead drawn from my own experience of life as a man.
I`m not saying the male leads I feature are all the same, they are not, nor am I saying that they are all myself, but they draw on aspects of myself blended with other men I have come to know well. So, I can claim, although you may or may not like them as people, my male leads are authentic.
My main female characters are more tricky because I can`t draw on my own direct experience in the same way. For them one of my main sources is observed behaviour of real women I have known. They are authentic when I write them because I describe, accurately I think, actual behaviour I have observed. The tricky bit is peeling back to look inside the female character`s minds, because to do that I cannot rely upon what my own feelings and motivations would have been.
Fortunately, there is a vast reservoir to draw on of outpourings from women about their experiences and feelings in a whole range of situations, which I plunder shamelessly. I sympathise with women writers because there is nothing like the same range of material from men describing their feelings. Perhaps they might learn something by reading my novels because I delve into the feelings of my male characters quite a bit, and those are real because I have drawn on my own authentic experience.
Although writing from one’s own direct experience is easier and likely to be more authentic, I don`t want to be limited to doing that.
I like to understand other people and where they are coming from, which means somehow imagining myself in their situation with their experiences. A good way of doing that is to write something from someone else`s point of view, for example someone of the opposite sex, a different race or culture, someone from history.
It is more of a risk to write from a perspective that isn’t one’s own because it would be all too easy to get it wrong, but I like to think, provided I really work at it, study it carefully, drawing on what such people say or have said, immerse myself in their persona, I can make it convincing.
With the help of a good editor and other coaching I have worked hard to hone my writing craft, in terms of style, structure and maintaining reader interest, I am confident that the quality of what I produce is good.
There is a lot more to it than just being good at writing. Imagine the book market as a football stadium crammed full of wannabe writers all clamouring to sell their literary masterpieces.
There is also a lot of chance involved. The success of a book is a bit like something posted on social media. In my experience the vast majority of posts on social media just get a handful of views if any, then all of a sudden, I’ll put one out that goes berserk. When I compare the few that go crazy with other stuff I have put out there that didn’t get any traction, there doesn’t seem any reason for it.
It’s the same with books in the marketplace. Publishers know this. They are selective in making sure that what they publish is of high enough quality, but they also know that, regardless of their selection process, at best only 10% or so will earn at least a small commercial return and only 1% will be what might be termed commercially successful. But if they weren’t careful about quality it would be much worse.
What I think this means is:
• You have no chance unless you are a good writer and to produce good product.
• Persistence is key, because, like the social media posts, most of what you put out there will flop, but keep at it and there is hope that one will eventually fly.
• You need to be lucky; the odds in the marketplace aren’t good.
So, how do I keep committed against those odds?
I believe in what I am doing. I have things to say, and I want to say them as effectively as I possibly can. I know that I can express myself effectively, more effectively than most. So, I am going to press on. If it turns out that only a small number get to benefit from my pearls of wisdom, so be it, but one day, like the social media posts that go viral, I could suddenly find I am a famous author.
In case you’re interested my published novels are:
Destiny of a Free Spirit
Walking Out of this World
The Glastonbury Triangle
No Free Speech for Hate
To Keep Us All Safe
In my recent @medium post, I`ve shared some thoughts on planning for risks and disasters, and our inability to plan for every possible outcome.
https://medium.com/@stephen_ford59/not-everything-is-within-our-control-get-used-to-it-bbe631845d04
In a way, writing can be a little like this, as well. You write the best book you can, but there are so many external factors which come into play in the publishing process and once the book is out in the world, that it can be impossible to plan how you will navigate every circumstance.
Did you encounter any unexpected hiccups with publishing your book?
#AmWriting #RiskManagement #disasterpreparedness #DisasterPrevention #SmallPublishing
Have you noticed, those who post the most often have the least to say?
You stumble across a blog that appears interesting and subscribe. Soon another post appears and you read it eagerly. Along the same lines as the first from a slightly different angle.
The very next day there is another post, some new words, but essentially the same as the first two posts.
Looking at the person’s history, a couple of hundred entries going back a couple of years. Six months ago, nine months ago, for all intents and purposes the same.
A one track mind, an obsession about some particular issue, churning out post after post on their one passion topic.
Alright, I get it, when you’re selling something, it is necessarily repetitive, hammering home the same few key messages over and over. Politicians and people in sales and marketing do this all the time, which is one reason I for one wouldn’t want to be in either politics or marketing.
But am I being hypocritical. I post myself on social media and I do find myself saying the same things multiple times, not in the same thread, but when it seems I am interacting with different people who probably didn’t read my earlier pearls of wisdom.
Also, as an author with five novels published so far, I have to plug my work because nobody else is going to. In doing so I repeat myself, just as anyone else trying to sell something must.
Well, I comfort myself, unlike many authors, each of my published books covers a different topic, in a different setting with different characters, not an endless stream of books about the adventures of Sherlock Holmes or Hercule Poirot, although commercially it might be for me better if I did.
I find it more satisfying to take one subject area, explore it fully and as deeply as I can, work that into a book and then move on to something else entirely. It makes each book more challenging because for each one I start from a completely clean slate and coming up for entirely fresh ideas is tough.
It’s a beautiful day here today, and I’ve been tapping away at my next book, as yet untitled. I might be new to Instagram, but I’ve been writing for a while now, with 5 books published so far:
Destiny of a Free Spirit, Cinnamon Press (Jan 2023)
Walking Out Of This World, Cinnamon Press (March 2024)
The Glastonbury Triangle, Cinnamon Press (Sep 2024)
To Keep Us All Safe, Austin Macauley Publishers (Feb 2025)
No Free Speech For Hate, Austin Macauley Publishers (Feb 2025)
#authorsofinstagram #satire #fantasybooks #bookrec #smallpublishing #smallpublishers #ukauthor #AmWriting #AuthorLife
title, date, publisher (Wednesday 2)
After lurking on Instagram for a while, it`s time to dust it off, like a pile of old books, and flip through the covers for a little reintroduction. I`m Stephen, and I`ve had 5 novels published so far. Using satire, pathos and humour, I explore the nature of mankind and how we are shaped by politics, technology and the natural world, the dystopias we might create and how we might escape.
#AuthorsOfInstagram #WritersCommunity #AuthorIntroduction #MeetTheAuthor #BritishAuthor
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