about me

Short story writer, novelist, travel photographer, adventurer.

The Essence of My Writing:

My aim is to involve the reader emotionally, and to ignite the flame of desire to learn more. My stories sometimes touch on famous legends, legendary characters and locations, with fact and fiction bound seamlessly together, and interwoven with a modern twist into a unique plot. All the characters are archetypal, with the main ones thrown into extraordinary circumstances.

My career as a design engineer took me into situations that were very creative, sometimes explosive and emotional, while my interests have occasionally been downright dangerous. I have tried to bring the creativity that was my lifeblood, as well as the emotion and danger, to my writing.

Powerful characters drive the plot inexorably in my ancient history thrillers that include both contemporary themes and a hint of the supernatural.

Where:
Born in Thurso, Caithness, and have lived most of my adult life in central Scotland. Worked for short spells in Colorado USA, Germany, and Norfolk; and for longer spells in Montreal Canada, and Dorset; and the longest spells in Kent.

What:
During my career as an Electronic Design Engineer, Project Manager and Bid Manager I have:
· Designed sniper locating and electronic eavesdropping equipment
· Managed teams designing fast-jet equipment
· Managed teams bidding electronic equipment to customers in all five continents, to a value of £150M
· Oh yes - and have attended Creative Writing Courses, Workshops, and am a member of the writing group Forthwrite Writers

My Goodness:
The normal course of my work created some abnormal circumstances like:
· Being exposed to nuclear radiation
· Being shot at by an Army Major with an SLR - the rifle that can blow your arm clean off
· Defining safe levels of microwave radiation exposure for UK engineers – the Russians had safe levels 100 times lower!

Previous interests:
· Jogging, Judo, Mountaineering, Pony Trekking, Skiing, Squash, Weightlifting

Current Interests:
· Ancient History, Gym training, Hillwalking, Photography, Scuba diving, Snorkelling, Swimming, Special Advisor to a Malt Whisky Club in Norway, and finally...Writing

Best Excitement
· Climbing volcanoes with my wife
· Competitive Judo, Squash and Swimming
· Hillwalking in Glenshee mountains on my own in Winter at –15 deg. C
· Hillwalking / climbing:- in Arizona - including Grand Canyon; Canadian Rockies; Colorado Rockies; Greece - Paros, Patmos, Samos; Hawaii - including Kilauea; Italy - Dolomites; Madeira - levadas including Pico do Areeiro; Majorca; Nepal - Himalaya; Norway; Scotland - 50 Munros including Black Cullin and Ben Nevis; Sicily - including Etna; Aeolian Islands - including Volcano; Sorrento peninsula - including Vesuvius; Spain - including Sierra Nevada; Utah; Nevada - including Las Vegas
· Scuba diving in Cyprus
· Skiing fast
· Trekking from the South Rim down into the Grand Canyon USA, staying overnight in Phantom Ranch, and trekking up to the North Rim, with my wife
· Walking on a glacier near Spiterstulen, Norway, with friends
· Walking the West Highland Way - all the way - with three women, including my wife

Moments of Sheer Terror
· At 10,000 ft in the Italian Dolomites, with a friend 200 yards away, my right leg collapsed through the roof of a snow cave up to my groin...my arms shot out horizontally...and... gingerly...I pushed myself up... then looked down...it was bottomless
· Being hit by a small tornado at 12,000 feet on Flat-Top mountain in the US Rockies in winter, on my own
· Canoeing...slowly...in an unstable canoe in crocodile infested waters in a Nepalese jungle, with my wife
· Carefully...edging along a very narrow ice ledge, in winter with friends, one third of the way up Buachaille Etive Mor in Glen Coe, and suddenly being faced with a giant vertical ice-wall...up and down
· Climbing Carn Mor Dearg and Ben Nevis in winter with a friend, then having to navigate...carefully...off the top of a misty Ben Nevis, covered in 10 feet of snow, with 2,000 ft cliffs, unseen...closeby
· Climbing in the Glenshee mountains in midwinter through two feet of snow, on my own. It had been -25C through the night, the sky was heavy with dark grey clouds, and it was too cold to stop and fit crampons. As I stopped to watch them, the clouds began to turn black...

favourite books

Sphinx by TS Learner
The Sigma Protocol by R Ludlum
On the Edge of Darkness by Barbara Erskine
Brethryn by Robyn Young
The Last Templar by Raymond Khoury
The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown

my websites

http://www.george-sinclair.com/     http://picasaweb.google.com/GeorgeNSinclair