Lives in England.
His pen flies everywhere.
Mick holds degrees in English&Literary Studies and a MA in Creative Writing. Since graduating, he has enjoyed numerous jobs. However, none can rival the sheer satisfaction of watching his pen fly onto a blank page or wall. Such surreal shenanigans mirror Mr Bright's chaotic classroom in book one of the Dax trilogy.
When Mick isn't watching his preternatural pen, he is busy injuring himself playing tennis. He hurts his elbow and wrist just by pondering the perfect backhand down the line. Luckily, his characters don't go anywhere near a court, except a legal one of sorts in book two. But they might play ping-pong while planning an escape from a secure psychiatric unit, or harm themselves with crazier endeavours like saving humanity, understanding reality, or emptying Cathedral puddles with their feet.
At home, Mick gulps hot chocolate from a bottomless Mr Grumpy cup. He also spends time listening to his family, including two grass-devouring guinea pigs, Goldenbee and Stems, whose chortles keep him in the sweet spot between sane and insane.
Books two and three of the Dax trilogy will be published in April and May 2024.
THE DAX TRILOGY
An insanely imaginative series of dark fantasy YA novels.
BOOK ONE
When his father disappears, Dax faces every living nightmare to find him.
Dax Candeland is navigating another difficult day at school, where no one shows enough consideration for his dislike of contractions or his obsession with numbers. One thought sustains him: it's his sixteenth birthday, and he will celebrate it with his father.
Alone, the two of them enjoy their meal and a special understanding–until Dax visits the bathroom, where the sinister clown from a poster comes alive, making him both fear and doubt reality.
Back outside, the world has changed beyond recognition, and his father has gone. So begins Dax's quest to find his father and learn why he vanished in the first place.
In this new world, Dax meets gargoyles, monsters, witches and giants–but why do they bear a strange resemblance to the people in his life? His tendency to overthink and obsession with details become his greatest advantage as he is forced to solve riddle after riddle to advance his search.
Yet the closer he gets to solving the mystery, the more dangerous the creatures in this new world become. All Dax knows is that he must find his father quickly–before the search kills him for real.BOOK TWO
Reality proves far scarier than Dax’s worst nightmare.
Dax is now seventeen and in a secure psychiatric unit. But he can't understand why his mother and sister have stopped visiting him.
Does his dad's demise have something to do with it?At least his sister's imaginary figmentstill visits, though she believes it's time for some tough love to help Dax recover. She attempts to prove that his demons can't come alive in the real world, even if summoned. Against Dax's wishes, she draws on paper the strongest demon, the clown, in front of him.
The clown springs to life, a self-proclaimed born-again angel, and warns that Dax's mum is in great danger. So begins Dax's second
adventure–to find his mum before the clown does.BOOK THREE
Chinwe holds the key to the secrets of the universe in her mind. But is it safe to share them?
At twenty, ChinweCandeland is already one of the world's most accomplished particle physicists.
But her determination to enable time travel in the multiverse might have more
to do with wishing she had dealt differently with her brother...Burdened by a Dax who exists only in her imagination, she starts to believe he is not just a manifestation of her guilt. What if he is a spiritual guide come to warn her that time travel could be exploited for sinister purposes?
When a clown from another universe haunts her nightmares, Chinwe must stop the demon before he uses her work to destroy the world.
If only she can conquer her own doubts and tell friend from foe before it's too late...
REVIEWS
WHAT READERS SAY.
Amazon (USA) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CVV4BW5X
5.0 out of 5 stars Extraordinary Creative Writing Reviewed in the United States on March 1, 2024
Mick's highly creative writing takes the reader on a journey of the mind with fantastic imagery, physics, math, riddles, and adventure of the supernatural, and yet relatable back to real world experiences of families who face separations as well as traumas of OCD and mental health challenges. For me the creative writing is what I find so interesting. I look forward to the next two books of this trilogy. This is like an adventure game in a three part mini-series.
5.0 out of 5 stars The good kind of weird! Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 23, 2024
Dark yet fun, thought-provoking and original, Dax is a great read. It’ll keep you guessing and is always entertaining as Dax’s world gets progressively crazier. Check it out!
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5.0 out of 5 stars Through the Looking Glass Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 2 March 2024
In this psychological portal fantasy, our main character, Dax is a troubled teen with an obsession with syntax and numbers. When his father disappears, Dax must dig deep to find the courage to discover the truth. His fantastic journey throws him into hostile lands populated by ghouls, gargoyles, witches and clowns. The reader must work out whether Dax's experiences real or not. A roller-coaster journey filled with twists and turns. Recommend!
Amazon (UK)
5.0 out of 5 stars Original, dark and profoundReviewed in the United States on March 2, 2024
This novel contains a puzzle. I love mysteries, so I could not help turning the pages to see where it was leading.
It's a coming-of-age tale that talks of love and misunderstandings, of the suffering of not belonging but also of a sort of glory that can be found in solitude.
The young protagonist is beset by monsters of all kinds and has to rely on himself to find his way through to the final heart-wrenching conclusion.
There are whole beautiful stretches of writing too -- so if you like original, surprising tales, this one is for you.True story about a 'gold mine'.
The author speaks to a friend called Billy
Billy: The paperback arrived today. The cover looks great. I was surprised at the large format, but I think it's cool. Look forward to the read.
Mick: I had no idea how big the format is. I just went with whatever file size Amazon accepted. I'm such a three putter or four on the greens of publication!
Billy: So format size wasn't intentional, more like putting with eyes closed. You might want to add page numbers.Mick: Right...no page numbers...what a duffus I am...
Billy: It was the first thing my wife said when she looked at it 🤷🏻♂️
Mick: That I'm a doofus? Okay, but imagine if HP's first edition had just one oversized book with no page numbers? You'd be sitting on a gold mine...a big numberless one of course. It actually suits Dax's character, though he'd just number every tenth page.
Billy: Okay. Please make future copies smaller and with page numbers so my copy stays unique. Like you say, I've got a 'gold mine'.
Ping me
If you are Billy, you'll have to wait a long time for the 'gold mine' to be profitable. Otherwise, ping me if you have any thoughts about the trilogy. Enjoy the photos on the next page!
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