John Needham

I have had a love affair with the written and printed word all my life. An avid reader as a child, my passion for print really took off when I was apprenticed as a compositor in the bygone age of hot-metal letterpress, long before the advent of computers, high-tech printing and ebooks.

Much of my career continued around print, in copywriting and as a graphic designer. Now retired from all that, I write books, issues-based and exploring the human condition. I have produced two house renovation books although not yet published them, and published part one of an autobiography, Wishing for the Better.

In fiction, my debut novel was Convergence, a story of elderly, interracial love. This was followed by Forebears, a family saga set in the east of England spanning 106 years from the early 20th century almost to the present day.

A third novel, The One of Us, is about the trials and tribulations and nature/nurture theory of separated-when-babies, adopted identical twins. My fourth book, Secret Shame, is a companion to The One of Us, telling the later poignant story of the birth mother of the twins.

My fifth novel, The Flautist, about a minor character from Secret Shame, is a gentle, sometimes sad story of music, love, belonging and rescue from despair.

Mixed Emotions is an anthology of short stories: some of them stand-alone and some modified sample chapters from my novels.

Wishing for the Better is the first part of my autobiography.

I live and write my words in west Wales.