David Balaam

About the Author

I began writing my first novel, Columbus Day, in 2008 with the wildly optimistic idea of supplementing my pension. While that may have proved a pipe dream, the journey into publishing has been anything but dull—and it sparked a passion for storytelling that continues to grow.

A few years later came The Letter, a light romantic adventure that follows its characters across Ireland, France, Spain and India. Like many authors, I draw on my own travels and life experiences, something I’ve only truly appreciated and been able to capture in later life. These are stories I could never have written in my twenties or thirties.

My third novel, Nothing Is Sacrosanct, takes a darker turn, exploring a far more dangerous and complex world. Spanning five decades, it traces the life of a damaged boy growing up in Austria at the end of the Second World War. Although not a direct sequel, No One Is Sacrosanct reunites readers with the original investigator and her husband as they come out of retirement to confront a chillingly familiar case.

More recently, I ventured into children’s fiction with The Wrong Cheese (ages 8–11), written partly for my grandchildren and partly to challenge myself to write for a younger audience. This book is published under the pen name David Morton.

I live in Surrey, England, and am a proud father of two daughters and grandfather to four wonderful grandchildren. When I’m not writing, I enjoy photography, cooking, fishing, travelling, and world music—though not necessarily in that order.

My only non-fiction title, A Guide to Church Photography for the Enthusiastic Amateur, reflects my long-standing interest in photographing historic and often forgotten churches across the UK, combining practical advice with a love of architecture and history.