Robert Barclay

ROBERT BARCLAY

Robert grew up in a small Hampshire village where the oldest bloodlines are recorded in the Domesday Book and carved into the tombstones of its flintstone Norman church. Without mobile phones, TV, or the Internet, he made up stories.

On his twenty-first birthday, he swam in a labyrinthine, murky waterway in the Mekong Delta, dismantling a booby trap during the Vietnam War. He went on to receive two bravery awards for similar work as a clearance diver during two tours of duty in Vietnam.

An inherent love of adventure subsequently led him to spend many years in and around Asia, including running a charity to rehabilitate trafficked children in Cambodia. He still supports UNICEF's work to fight sex trafficking there. His second book, The Girl in the Orphanage, is based on the true story of a victim and seeks to highlight the issue.

His storytelling draws inspiration from the trials and joys of living around the world, as well as from random meetings with fellow occupants of our amazing planet. His writing brings human struggles and love stories to life with vivid storytelling in exotic locations and from varied lived experiences.

He now lives in a historic gold-mining town in Australia with his small dog, a large book collection, and a piano he has yet to master. In his personal fight against the plague of AI "literature", he sponsors a literary prize at the local High School.