Kev Edwards/Will Montgomery: A Pen Picture
I have long wanted to write a book, but never seemed to find the time. However, when I negotiated redundancy in 2009 my mind returned to the possibility of writing again. And early in 2013 I finally started putting fingers to keyboard. The result was my first novel, Killing Seas, a 94,000 word thriller about modern-day piracy and how a unit of dedicated sailors – the International MArine Police – is formed to defeat this 21st century crime.
Having published that in 2014 I started my second novel, The Savage Seas. In this, some of the characters from The Killing Seas return to the front line of maritime crime fighting. Now, though, their adversaries are a different, but still evil, bunch of criminals: human traffickers. Taking African women and children from their homelands across for sale in South America is one aspect of the crime that will horrify. Selling those same victims into trades as diverse as domestic service, factory labouring and the sex industry adds an extra dimension that the IMP must fight. And a further twist is the potential for selling some of the slaves to a terrorist gang to be used as decoys in a widespread bombing campaign on American soil.
For Golden Seas, my third novel, I went back to my roots: Cornwall. Whilst I was born and raised in the County I also enjoyed many holidays there after I moved away. Those that stand out are the times I spent on the Isles of Scilly. We had relatives over there and stayed with them during the summer. For anyone who has sailed to the islands on the ferry – Scillonian – they will recall two things: firstly, the sea trip could be one of the roughest in the world. Not for nothing was the Scillonian known as the Vomit Comet. But, the second memory will always be the sheer beauty of these wonderful islands. In locating much of Golden there I recalled many boyhood memories not only of the scenery, but also of the isolation and the mighty seas that surrounded this most westerly part of England. In this story we see the return of Ellie and Ben, but this time they are joined in the field by the Commodore.
For Book 4 – African Storm – I reflected on the corruption that surrounds us and the way in which some people take almighty risks to expose it. Set largely in Africa, but also in the Mediterranean, this story-line follows a government minister who enlists the help of the IMP to expose a government that is rotten to the core. As always, the bulk of the action takes place on the oceans, but this time there is also much activity in the African jungle and some of the seedier areas of the world’s harbours.
In Book 5, Power Storm, I focused on a subject dear to many of our hearts: the search for renewable energies to help ensure that future generations benefit from a much cleaner and safer planet. This book deals with the subject of discovering a renewable source that can save the planet, but only if it falls into the right hands. This source is discovered by the wrong people and Ben Petersen once again finds himself in the position of rescuer.
My choice of plot in all books reflects, to some extent, my favourite fiction authors. From today these are people like John Grisham, David Baldacci and Lee Childs. From further back, Agatha Christie, Conan Doyle and Leslie Charteris. But of more relevance are authors such as Alistair Maclean, Douglas Reeman, Clive Cussler, Nevil Shute and Nicholas Monsarrat. All these wrote about the sea, ships and sailors. I would not be so conceited as to say that I have matched their quality of prose, but I find their style of writing understandable, easy to read and hugely enjoyable. Not to mention their gift for immersing me in their stories.
My debut, and subsequent novels, target audiences, like those of the above authors: i.e. adults. Probably people with an interest in the sea and merchant shipping – which includes those who have travelled on ferries and cruise liners as well as those with a more direct connection or interest. It extends to those who, whilst on holiday, have watched ships sailing in and out of harbours and wondered what cargoes those ships carried, what ports they had visited and where they were going next. In short, the audience could be anyone of us who looks at the sea and wonders about those who use it to earn a living.
With that in mind, I try to tell stories about vessels that travel the world’s oceans in calm and stormy weather, literally and figuratively. Ships that carry most of what we eat, drink, wear and use. Stories about ships and the people who love, or abuse, them that will attract readers who like characters they can understand and characters with whom they can empathise.
My latest book, The Last Hour, unlike the others, is set in the past, in World War 2. I also moved away from merchant and commercial shipping and set the story in the Royal Navy. And, I located much of the story in my home village of Newlyn in South West Cornwall. It is in part a homage to my Father, and others like him, who served all his WW2 service at sea. And to my Mother and many like her who may not have seen active service, but waited at home for news of their loved ones, maintaining as near a normal life as they could whilst anticipating the days of peace when they could raise their families without the danger of falling bombs, invading troops and worry about the fate of their loved ones.
This latest novel is also written uner my pen name of Will Montgomery.
All my novels’ underpinning story lines are influenced hugely by my first career after leaving school: that of a Merchant Navy navigator. Like many who went to sea in the 1970s, I benefited from the time when our country’s merchant fleet was huge and diverse. This gave me many opportunities to explore the world, see different places, meet many different people and appreciate a lifestyle that knew few boundaries.
As a Cornishman raised with the sounds of waves crashing on to the shore below my bedroom, my first career choise was, perhaps inevitable. I followed that career into my twenties before coming ashore and joining the Civil Service. As Forrest Gump said, “And that’s all I will say about that.”
On a more personal note, having folIowed a corporate career for many years, I became self-employed in 2009, and helped small businesses by providing time-bound managerial support. I am married, with two adult children and a thirteen year old Border Collie. My interests are walking, reading and playing occasional rounds of golf.