DAVID WILLIAMS
David Williams grew up as one of seven children in a mining community in the North East of England, a childhood he has written about with humour and affection in his popular collection of short stories We Never Had It So Good, published by Zymurgy.
While pursuing a varied career in teaching, the arts, marketing and training, David has also been a prolific free-lance writer, with many plays broadcast by the BBC, books and plays published by top education publishers in the UK, Australia, Germany and Scandinavia, and many credits as a writer and format creator for popular TV and radio quiz and game shows. He has written and produced educational and training videos, DVDs and software. He is a member of the Society of Authors and NAWE. He often performs at public readings, workshops and seminars. He writes stories and articles for magazines such as The Author and The New Writer and has a regular blog Writer in the North.
David’s first novel was 11:59, a contemporary thriller published by Wild Wolf. It was a semi-finalist in the 2010 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award, which annually attracts 10,000 entries worldwide. Publishers Weekly described it as: ‘One taut little thriller…A near-cinematic stylist, the author deftly sustains the tension right up until the final segment…a sterling example of astute character studies melded with highly topical concerns.’
David also reached the semi-final of the 2011 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award with this novel. ‘One day I hope to win it!’ he says.
David Williams has been married to schooldays sweetheart Paula ‘for years and years’. They have three grown-up children and a growing band of grandchildren. The drama in their life comes from following the fortunes, on and off the field, of their local football team, Newcastle United.
Listen to David's interview on BBC Radio.
11:59 was a semi-finalist in the 2010 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award and Mr Stephenson's Regret was a finalist in the 2011 awards.
“A taut thriller ... A near-cinematic stylist, the author deftly sustains the tension right up until the final segment ... a sterling example of astute character studies melded with highly topical concerns.”
~ Publishers Weekly (on 11:59)
"I absolutely loved this one. Full of seedy goings-on and laced with dark humour it had me looking forward to resuming the story every time." ~ Ric's Reviews (on 11:59)
“This richly detailed and meticulously researched storyline breathes life and a palpable sense of intimacy into these historical figures and immerses readers in an England embroiled in political and social upheaval as it teeters on the cusp of the industrial revolution.”
~ Publishers Weekly (on Mr Stephenson's Regret)
MR STEPHENSON'S REGRET
This absorbing novel brings to dramatic life the pioneers of the railway age. Significant figures appear on the broad canvas of
history – Wellington, Peel, Dickens and Queen Victoria among them – but the story belongs as much to the modest mining
community that is home to George and Robert Stephenson in the early years, and to their intimates, not least the women in their
lives (who have remained all but anonymous in the biographies).
Central to the narrative is the complex, often tense, relationship between father and son. Both have ambitions and desires that
provide the engine for their achievements but also create a crisis of conflict that threatens to derail their journey at a crucial stage.
In following their battles, personally and as a partnership, much is revealed about nineteenth century society – about class division,
self-interest and greed, indulgence and sexuality, repression and guilt – that may taint even the sweet taste of success.
11:59
Who is Hassan and what is behind his mysterious Valentine message to Amina? Who is the young beauty chased across a lorry park in the early hours? These are the questions local phone-in host Marc Niven struggles with as he is drawn deeper into the city’s secret places. The question he already knows the answer to – why did Sam leave him so suddenly? – is the one that troubles him most.