I've always had a soft spot for African adventure stories. When I was ten, I used to love books like King Solomon's Mines (by Rider Haggard) and Sahara Adventure (by Willard Price). Stories of exotic and dangerous places used to keep me up late into the night, reading by torchlight under the bedclothes. Now I live in Africa and write my own African adventure stories, set in the West African countries Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger.
The Sophie series is about an English girl who goes to live on the edge of the Sahara desert with her nutty father. Her adventures there are often exciting, sometimes terrifying and occasionally hilarious. The latest in the series is Sophie and the Pancake Plot. It came out in August 2008 and seems to be going down a treat! The Yellowcake Conspiracy is basically a nuclear espionage thriller. It's about an African cattle herder who becomes a spy. It took me ages to research and write this one, but I do like the end result.
Hacking Timbuktu is an action adventure set in London and Timbuktu. If you like the look of parkour (freerunning) you'll love this one. But you'll have to wait a bit, I'm afraid - it's not due out till Autumn 2009. I've lived in Africa since 2001. My wife Charlie and I are missionaries (church workers) there. There's more on the blog about our lives in Africa - about why we're here and what we do.
I should also mention our animals. We have a horse, five hens and two kittens. I'd love to write an adventure story about horse-riding in the desert - it's like no other feeling on earth! That's all for now. Happy reading! Stephen