It was a great place to grow up! I still have fond memories of our house, which stood at the top of a hill, overlooking the sea, and being taken on long trips into the countryside.

At aged two, Alex came along. It was great having a brother and we spent many a happy day building cardboard box tunnels and playing ‘hide and seek’ with our pet tortoise. When I was about six, we moved back to London and Alex and I were sent to Hill House.

In 1981 Camilla, my sister, was born. It was strange suddenly having a girl around, but no doubt addressed the imbalance of what was becoming a very male-dominated household.

Things then got a bit hectic. I found myself in an American International school, in France – which was very different from anything I'd ever experienced before. For one, the school was very relaxed. One Halloween, for instance, the headmaster dressed up as Frankenstein, burst into my classroom and started throwing all the chairs around. It was brilliant!

We soon returned to England, and at nine, Alex and I were sent off to boarding school. The school was called St. Georges, and stood at the foot of Windsor Castle.

At thirteen, I went to Eton College. Having had some boarding school experience, I found the transition not too bad; although it took some time to learn the lay of the land. When A-Levels came around, I specialised in chemistry, biology, history of art and art – which was a lot, considering we were encouraged to keep up our sporting commitments, school plays and the like – but got some good grades and a place at Edinburgh University.

Before heading north, though, I took a Gap Year. I went off, with two friends, to South East Asia. We did the rounds – visiting some amazing places in Bali, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Hong Kong – before returning to England.

My first year at Edinburgh was fantastic! I made lots of friends and we spent most of our time jamming, heading off on road trips and chatting about far-out stuff, well into the early hours of the morning. Admittedly, I found it hard to concentrate on my studies, but managed, in the end, to get a BSc in psychology.

Like many of my friends, I chose to stay in Edinburgh. I started up a maintenance company, and it was then that the writing bug took hold. I loved reading, easily devouring a book a week, and felt it time to contribute something of my own. And so, I used what I had learnt from university, material from the popular psychology and metaphysics shelf in my local bookstore, and put together a book that would hopefully shed some light on some of life’s mysteries. It was really just a bit of fun – a chance to get some experience with writing – and because it was my first attempt, I wrote it under a pseudonym.

Feeling I had found some sort of vocation, I set my mind on other writing projects. I moved down to Southport, to stay with my Great Aunt, who very kindly offered to help me get going. I wrote a science fiction shooting script and then another non-fiction book, again using a pseudonym for both.

Although some of my ideas were a bit 'high brow', the aim of the exercise was to get some experience juggling prose and complex ideas. My agent, at the time, was incredibly supportive, encouraging me to just write, rather than worry too much about what I was writing, and helped steady my nerve by introducing me to some very inspiring people. 

Soon after I had finished the last book, I was hit by a bombshell. My father, who had been suffering with a rare blood condition, passed away in his sleep. I raced down to London and we all came together as a family. It was so sad; much sadder than I could have possibly imagined.

I stayed in London and then decided to use my savings and inheritance to buy a house. Everyone seemed to be buying and doing up property, so it seemed like a good idea. I then got a job in corporate finance, to help fund the renovation project, but the writing bug returned, and instead of selling the place on, I decided to stay put and have a go at another book.

This, actually, proved quite difficult. The demands of my job were quite high and so I didn’t have any time to write. It was then that I hit upon the idea of being a teacher! Actually, to be fair, I had been nursing the idea in the back of my mind for some time. Perhaps being the eldest of three had brought out my caring, fatherly side, which was drawing me to the job; or maybe it was because I've always had a deep respect for knowledge. Whatever the case, I felt this would be something I'd really enjoy.

After completing my PGCE at Goldsmith’s College, I got a job at Riddlesdown Collegiate. For the last five years, I’ve been teaching science, psychology and critical thinking, of which I am now Subject Leader, to pupils across the school. Although the demands of the job have been high, I managed to find the time to write the third book: a teen fantasy novel called The Enchanted Amulet.