Phil’s writing life began during the 1980s when, as a producer and director for TVNZ, he developed scripts for TV commercials, promotional videos and road safety documentaries. Later, he turned to fiction, finding a lucrative niche writing short stories for women’s magazines.
In 1998, Phil moved from Christchurch to Blenheim, where he was employed as an advertising features writer and sub-editor at the Marlborough Express newspaper. After about a year, deciding that newspaper advertising no longer pressed his buttons, he left to start a website development company.
In 2010, Phil had an idea for a novel inspired by Charles Dickens’ Oliver Twist. After four years of (pleasurable) slog, he completed The Art of Dodging, the story of the Artful Dodger’s life after he had left the pages of Oliver Twist. He is now working on two new manuscripts: the ‘back-story’ of Fagin, also from Oliver Twist, and the first of series of spy novels set against the backdrop of British East India Company. He is also working on an idea for a short film.
Phil lives in Blenheim with his wife, Suzie, and their two cats, Zöe and Honey. When he’s not writing or doesn’t have his nose buried in a spy thriller, historical novel or a classic, he can be found in the garden playing with his succulents and cacti.
