Reservoir Pups

Eddie Malone moves from nice, quiet Groomsport, to tough and dangerous Belfast after his dad has an affair with the local doctor, and flees to England, meaning that his long suffering, and quite annoying, mother, has to get a job. Eddie quickly finds himself out of his depth on the dark streets of the city, falling foul of the notorious Reservoir Pups gang.

Sometimes – and I mean, only sometimes – writing for a living can be a real job. That happens when what was your hobby becomes your main way of making a living. Just like you don`t feel like going to work everyday, I don`t always feel like writing – but I have to, because it`s my job.

Writing Reservoir Pups was a bit like when I was writing just for a hobby – pure fun, and not supposed to impress anyone. Except my son, I suppose. He was seven when I wrote this, and although he was aware that I was a writer, he obviously wasn`t old enough to read the books, or see the films, although clearly he had heard all the swearing before. So I wrote this for him.

Although he clearly loved it – although `not as much as Harry Potter` as I recall – he ended up not only as my editor and proof reader (his spelling is better than mine) but also my market expert . `Daddy,` he said, `the parents won`t like it if you put all that swearing in it.` Good point.

Although I still haven`t sold as many as Harry Potter.