Apart from my books, I have also had three movie deals; one in theUK for my children's story Clonk and the Birdman, and two in Hollywood. Yes, THAT Hollywood, and no, I don't believe it either!

I also won first prize in the EuroScript Film Story Competition (a Europe-wide competition sponsored by the European Film Commission) for my suspense thriller Mere Mortals, which I hope will see the light of day sometime as a novel as well as a movie.

My latest book is entitled The Principles that Lie Beneath All Good Stories, with contributions from successful authors, scriptwriters and playwrights. The first to join the gang was Hollywood scriptwriting legend, BOB GALE - the writer of Back to the Future among his many other Hollywood credits. Bob and I spent two days together (that's Bob on the right as you look) and his contribution is a fascinating insight into the creative method of a hugely successful writer. That's me on the left, trying to look like I'm not in LA meeting my hero...

I am very grateful to Bob for his contribution. His words do, of course, appear in the book.

I am also beginning a doctoral thesis at Brighton University on the importance of Subtext in story. I am discovering all the different types of subtext, the creative behaviours that bed subtext into a story, and how the depth and extent of subtext seems to relate directly to how highly the public rate a story.

Plus I have a couple of gigs now working as a story consultant for film stories on the basis of subtext analysis. if my thesis is proven, I am genuinely able to tell you, in advance of investment, just how popular a story will be. Now that's gotta be worth something to anyone involved in story development, right...?!