Who am I?
I am a prolific writer of Science Fiction, Rock Music and alternative style semi-autobiographical books and fiction. I have written 59 books. If you’re looking for something different then you have found it! Just buy one from Amazon and see!
My influences include Henry Miller, Jack Kerouac, Captain Beefheart, Allen Ginsberg, Christopher Hitchins, Roy Harper, Bob Dylan, Margaret Atwood, Woody Guthrie and Kurt Vonnegut Jnr.
I was born in 1949 in the Thames Delta in the deep South outside London. I grew up in the 1960s and was thoroughly immersed in the London scene and counter-culture. I was a student through all those heady days and lapped up the idealism and optimism of the times. We knew we were changing the world and bringing new sensibilities to bear. Those were the days that spawned feminism, the green movement, anti-capitalism and civil rights.
I was there through the whole gamut of Rock Music. As a kid I heard Little Richard on the radio and then there was the Beatles, Psychedelia and the London Underground, Acid Rock and the West Coast alternative culture, IT, OZ and a thriving Rock scene and cultural tsunami.
I got to see most of the important acts – Jimi Hendrix, Bob Dylan, Cream, Roy Harper, Captain Beefheart, Country Joe & the Fish, Muddy Waters, Pink Floyd, Son House and Bo Diddley – and hosts of others. I went to all the big festivals and events.
The 1960s counter-culture was not a fashion statement; it was a way of life. It looked at the boring establishment, the old-boys network, the stereotypical attire, the joyless lack of creativity, the conventions, religion, politics, blatant selfish greed, exploitation, inherent racism and sexism and looked to create something better. I was part of it.
We stood up for our ideals – the anti-war movement, liberation of sex, and the bringing of freedom and colour into a drab 1950s post-war society.
Then came Punk and the music went on and on and on……
On a creative front, having discovered that despite my passion, I have no talent for music, I went into the realm of writing.
In the 1970s the energy and creativity dropped out of the counter-culture. Earning a living loomed and I went into teaching where I stayed true to my ideals. I extolled the virtues of fun, freedom and the joy of creativity. I brought a bit of colour into the profession and did things my way. I must have been successful because I rose up to Headteacher and my school became one of the best in the country. It’s Open, Caring, Friendly ethos was mine and I proved it worked. If you treated young people respectfully and made learning fun everything would work. It did.
During the course of my teaching career I built up a large number of books. I wrote whatever took my fancy. I never wrote for financial gain or to get famous; I wrote what I was interested in, moved by or felt the urge to do. I produced Sci-Fi to alternative fiction and Rock biography and history – whatever I enjoyed. I always harboured a desire to make a living out of writing but was always more than content to be a teacher.
To be a teacher is a privilege. A teacher is the equivalent of the tribes shaman; the holder of wisdom, dispenser of knowledge. I was happy with that.
On the family front I fell in love when I was eighteen and married in a great event in the woods in 1971. We have been together ever since and have four very dynamic, individualistic and vibrant kids who are changing the world in their own ways. They fill me with great love and hope for the future. My five grandchildren are growing up and are enthusiastic, loving citizens of the world.
I believe in equality, tolerance, justice and freedom. I respect other people’s points of view and do not expect people to share the same beliefs as me. I work in my own way to produce a positive zeitgeist and would like to live in a world where there is harmony between people and respect for the environment.
I deplore violence, fanaticism, war, coercion and intolerance.
I love smiles, love, argument and beauty in all its many forms.
I am enraged and saddened by what we are doing to the natural world through the pressure of our numbers, pollution and destruction of habitat.
I now live in the North of England and continue writing and doing my bit to change the Zeitgeist.
…and now plant ecosystems on the moon!
Space debris…500,000 pieces of it! Opher, What is happening!? Where did logic go? Mankind never learns until it’s too late!? I enjoy all that you write!!
Thank you Myth. Yes – what are we doing?
Are plant ecosystems on the Moon a good thing? Or is that the start of a new age of pillage?
Everywhere we go we leave our debris and destruction don’t we? Our logic seems confused. I don’t think we do know what we want.
But we do have a good side too! Maybe we will learn, tidy up our mess and make the world (and the Moon) a better place???
We do have a good side Opher, we Do! To tidy up…it will take Team work! And we must carry each other! Thank you Opher for your reply, and the informative writing (food for thought) that you have done! Very Nice achievements! Hand shake.
Myth – it certainly would be good if we all started pulling together to clear up the mess we’ve made. Thanks again.
Namaste Opher 🙂
This makes for a fascinating read. So pleased you made a Blog-post of it and didn’t tuck it away as an About Me page 🙂 You’ve certainly packed an awful lot into your years and lived through some amazing periods in UK history. I had no idea you originated in London!
What appeals to me is your relentless, endless passion for life, for living, for pursuing your goals with unbounded enthusiasm so as to not only achieve them but surpass them. Having read your post I anticipate a forthcoming autobiography?? With 59 books already published, some of the hard-work needed for an autobiography has already been done. Such a tome would sit comfortably alongside your self-published library. What say you to such an idea? 🙂
Hoping all is well, and you looking forward to the weekend.
Namaste 🙂
DN
Hi Dewin, Good to hear from you.
It’s a good day today. I have just completed the rewrite of God’s Bolt! Feels good.
I hope you too are into a creative splurge and enjoying your freedom.
I am now turning my attention to the sequel.
As for the autobiography – I think every one of my books is an autobiography!
The Roy Harper book is really an autobiography. I have juxtaposed my life with his.
The trouble is that the people that have looked at the book either love it or hate it. It’s a bit of a stream of consciousness. I am in a dilemma. Liz thinks it is too self-indulgent – so I am hanging on a knife’s edge. Should I rewrite it in a different style or publish it as it is? I don’t suppose you fancy having a shifty and offering an opinion?
Namaste Opher 🙂
Excellent! You have been busy and completion is a fine place to rest a while before fluttering the feather some more. As for me, all is well thank you – I’ve been enjoying the company of newly made friends on-line, whilst indulging my appetite with vegan avocado chocolate cake, episodes of Luther, and sporadic forays into poetry…what else could one wish for? 😀
I hear what you say about the autobiography and it’s alignment with Roy Harper, but I still feel a tome dedicated to the details of your life would be a wonderful addition to the legacy that is your library.
Is it the Roy Harper book that you’d like me to consider or the rewrite of God’s Bolt? My assumption is the Roy Harper book. By all means send me a selection of parts and I’ll gladly have a shifty…I understand how sometimes the thickness of a forest is obscured by the width of a tree. Would you mind if I also extended that invitation to a family member…they may be willing to peruse the contents and assist your request? My email as below.
Dewin.Nefol@gmail.com
I’m heading into town shortly for a long-awaited visit: it’s been some years since last I was there and whilst I may only be there for a wee while I’m interested to see how things have changed. So many things have altered in the years I have been away, the past few weeks have been quite overwhelming in both good and not-so-good ways. I have much to chew-on and chew-over, but it is a feast ripe and ready to be eaten 🙂
Enjoy your late afternoon and evening. Have a blast now the Bolt’s bolted down 🙂
Namaste 🙂
DN
Cheers Dewin – I’ll send you the opening offending section.