Prolific writer Stuart Aken says that being raised in a household without a TV was probably a factor in his becoming an avid reader, to the extent that he had read all the books in his local children’s library by the time he was 11. At this point, a formidable but far-sighted librarian named Hilda allowed him to pick an adult book on the understanding that she must approve it before allowing him to take it away.
He picked All Quiet
on the Western Front by
Erich Maria Remarque. Maybe it was a book Hilda had never read, or maybe she
saw even at that early stage that Stuart was destined to become a writer for
whom no topics were out of bounds. Whatever the reason, the 11-year-old Stuart
was allowed to take the book away. It taught him that there was nothing he
couldn’t read.
It wasn’t just reading that was an integral part of Stuart’s
early life. He was in demand as a storyteller for friends and family,
concocting tales that would later be acted out in games.
At 14 years old, for a school assignment, Stuart took a real
event, fictionalised it and turned it into a tense mystery. It won a cup for
the year’s best story. He looks back on this as his first real step on the road
to becoming an author. Though blessed with a magical childhood, family tragedy
dogged Stuart’s adolescence leading to a roller-coaster of upheavals for
several years, the highs and lows of which have helped shape him as a writer.
As well as being a successful novelist, Stuart is also a talented photographer. His first
publications were illustrated articles in the British photographic press. His
first fiction publication was a radio play, Hitch
Hiker, broadcast on Radio 4 in 1978. He had entered Hitch Hiker in the Radio Times Drama contest, and came third, the
year the contest was won by Willie Russell of Blood Brothers and Educating
Rita fame. Stuart was interviewed about the play by Tom Stoppard, and as a
result was contracted by a prestigious literary agency. Sadly, Stuart’s work
was considered too radical for the TV channels of the time (perhaps Hilda
should have withheld consent for All
Quiet on the Western Front until he was older). Stuart has since gone
on to further competition success with his short fiction.
Building on his early achievements, Stuart has written
numerous novels, novellas and short stories, notable amongst which are his
fantasy and science-fiction trilogies and his novella, The Methuselah Strain.
In addition, he wrote a memoir about his tenyears with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, his recovery from which he celebrated
by running in the GreatNorth Run.
Amongst Stuart’s works are two major trilogies; A Seared Sky and Generation Mars.
A Seared Sky is a fantasy adventure to rival The Lord of theRings.
Like Tolkien’s epic, A
Seared Sky was several decades in the making, but has yet to be made into a
series of blockbusting films; his fans live in hope.
When the Skyfire arrives early, Dagla Kaz sets out for the ancient homeland to harvest a new Godwood and exchange Virgin Gifts. He must lead his pilgrims hundreds of leagues over pirate-infested seas, across hostile lands, and return triumphant before the seared sky dies back to normality.
GenerationMars is a science fiction trilogy.
The story of Generation Mars begins in the near future, when climate change has made the Earth all but uninhabitable. The story unfolds to reveal the long-term fate of humankind.
Stuart's latest novel, An Excess of... is an eco-romance / political / environmental thriller due to be released in October 2021.
Read more about Stuart, his life and his writing, on his website.
