I've been writing
computer game features for over 13 years but before that I owned
and ran a bookshop and a computer retail outlet. Around 12 years
ago I decided that writing was what I wanted to do so I jacked
it all in and now work almost exclusively from home.
My first reviews
appeared in The Reporter Group, Manchester and ran for 5 years.
During that time I also began writing for The Chester Chronicle,
The Swindon Advertiser, The Reading Post, The Bolton Evening
News, The Harrogate Advertiser, The Game Guide,The Worthing
Herald, The Uxbridge & Hayes Informer, The Ruislip &
Northwood Informer, TDB Exeter and The Watford Observer. I
also did some work on a kids magazine called Fun On Line and
was asked by the BBC to write & read a 5-minute Christmas
broadcast on the latest titles.
Currently my features
only appear on the Gamepage but I have worked on a 2-page
spread for a computer magazine once a month and I have also
produced over 50 'Project Cards' for At Home With Your PC
- a direct mail computer tutorial - and worked on a Readers
Digest title called 1001 Computer Hints and Tips. More recently
still, I was asked to supply tutorial features for a magazine
titled PC's In Easy Steps from Live Publishing which saw its
first edition released in January 2001. I am, however, always
on the lookout for anyone willing to publish my work so, if
there are any features editors out there, drop me a line.
editor@gamepage.co.uk
Over the years I
have built up quite a strong relationship with developers
and PR people who between them send me around 300 games a
year to review. I also attend the ECTS (European Computer
Trade Show) every year which has found its most recent home
at Excel . This is usually held during the first week in September and
attracts up to 20,000 visitors over the 3 day event. Apart
from getting a look at what the coming months have in store
the show is mainly about checking out the georgeous young
ladies brought in to promote certain titles and, of course,
getting as much free beer as possible. Many television celebrities
make an appearance at the show and over the years I have bumped
into Adrian Edmondson, The Spice Girls, Steve Davis, Dominik
Diamond and Carol Vordaman and at one show I had the pleasure
of meeting porn queen Jo Guest but I was a little too worse
for wear to do much about it. Jo, fortunately, was great about
it and posed with me without hesitation dispite my slight
inebriation.
Apart from writing
I also enjoy chaperoning. This entails taking care of youngsters
when they are involved in any theatrical, television or film
production. Recently (2002) I worked on Nicholas Nickleby
up in Hebden Bridge and spent a couple of great weeks with
Jim Broadbent and Jamie Bell (Billy Elliot). I have also worked
considerably with the Manchester Boys Choir in A Midsummer
Night's Dream, Tanhauser, Jenufa and the
Magic Flute for Opera North. Other TV, theatre and
film work includes Nature Boy for the BBC,
Les Miserables, There's only one
Jimmy Grimble (a film made by Channel 5 starring
Robert Carlisle) plus Seeing Red, Coronation
Street, Big Meg Little Meg, Cold
Feet, City Life, The Bradshaw's,
September Song, Hobson's Choice,
A Touch of Frost, Songs of Praise
and Children's Ward. Christmas 2000 brought
back some of the Manchester Boys Choir for 14 performances
of the Nutcracker
Ballet in Manchester, which was fun, but
my longest and hardest stint was a five month run of Oliver
at Manchester's Opera House as well as some days in Birmingham
and Bradford. Both Russ Abbott and Gary Wilmot played the
part of Fagin while I was there and you couldn't wish to meet
two nicer guys. My best wishes go to anyone who worked on
those productions reading this now.
A few years ago
I was involved with a BBC2 production called Restoration
and the latest series of Grange
Hill, produced at Mersey Television in Liverpool.
Filming started on July 10 2002 and ran right through until
early December, which means I was pretty busy during that
time trying to juggle the few remaining hours in the day to
fit in review time and Gamepage updates while propping my
eyelids open with matches...! Furthermore, I seemed to only
have a few days off after filming before I was whisked away
to the magical world of Disney's Beauty and the Beast
at the Palace Theatre, Manchester, where I worked for 5 weeks
and covered 36 performances. Hi to Ceallach, Josh
and Daniel (the three 'Chips' I've been looking after
backstage) and three really nice boys they are too...!
In
2003 I worked long hours
on a Danny Boyle film, 'Millions', filmed
around the North West - mainly Liverpool and Manchester. Like
previous Danny Boyle films (28 Days Later, The Beach &
Trainspotting...) this one is also a little different - but
that's all I'm prepared to say at this time.. I moved from
that to a second stint on Grange hill, (another
20 weeks), and more recently helped ot on Top of the
Pops Saturday, Blue Peter, CBBC
and Diggin-it... Click
Here for a full CV
My involvement with
stage and screen doesn't stop at chaperoning. I have made
a couple of small appearances on the telly myself - the first
saw me looking suave and sophisticated in a production called
"Wide Eyed & Legless" which
starred Julie Walters and Jim Broadbent, and anyone who is
a fan of "Cracker" might just have
caught me leaping out of a police car and running around with
a machine gun in the episode where Beck commits suicide by
leaping off the roof of Manchester's Ramada Hotel. My daughter,
Rebecca, has made several stage and screen appearances notably
"A Touch of Frost", "September
Song", Knight School, GBH,
The cloning of Joanna May and Joseph
and his Technicolour Dreamcoat, and to complete the
scene my wife helps to run a small but growing local drama
school so no one can accuse us of being lazy...!
When I get the chance,
which isn't very often these days, I like to try my hand at
creative writing. Seven of my short stories have been broadcast
on local radio and I have written 2 unpublished novels. One
of these, Veil of Iskara, is available to download from the
Internet for a very modest charge. You can get it from Authors
Online
About
the Gamepage...
Beginning very modestly
in October 1999 the site was initially used to post reviews
for the benefit of developers who wanted to see what I had
written about their titles. By July 2000 it had begun to get
busier and so I started to concentrate more on it's appearance,
promotion and development and it was at this time that I added
my first online competition. This received over 680 entries
but that figure doubled the following month and doubled again
in September. Now it often reaches 4000+ entries for
each draw with over 1,000 email entries arriving every day
between all the monthly comps - and that figure is still growing...!
Between 1,000 and
2,000 people visit the gamepage every day amassing between
them an average of around 18,000 daily page views (550,000
per month) and around 10,500 people regularly receive my newsletter.
As you will appreciate this is quickly becoming a mammoth
task for just one guy although I do get a little technical
help from a friend, Lee. Nevertheless, I spend around 16 hours
a day writing, reviewing, uploading, designing and replying
to email and there's quite a bit of cutting, copying and pasting
going on too...!
ComputerComps
is a more recent venture. Starting life in October 2001 it
concentrates solely on the competition aspects and has regularly
hosted as many as 10 at one time but several other projects
are currently being developed. Together with Chumba (Paul
Smyth) I have an involvement in Glamour
Designs, which we are hoping to transform into a complete
model and photographer site, and I run and maintain the site
of Michelle
Marsh & several other glamour models.
The Gamepage can
only be described as a labour of love. The pittance I receive
from banner-clicks just covers the cost of postage and packing
for the prizes and newspapers pay very little for freelance
features.
So please pay a
visit to the sponsors, take advantage of some of the special
deals on site, visit our other sites and use the links when
purchasing from Amazon.co.uk...
