#223 Critique of up to 3,000 words of your writing, plus bundle of 3 climate-change thrillers by author and radio host David Barker

A chance to get feedback on up to 3,000 words of your work, plus win a bundle of three thrillers in the Gaia trilogy by David Barker.

About the author:

I love books. I love reading thrillers, sci-fi and military history. And I love reading children’s book to my daughter. I spent most of my career as an economist in the city. Then a few years ago, I thought of a story and it wouldn’t let go. So I plotted and researched and tinkered. By then the idea of writing a novel had sunk it claws in and there was no letting go.

Finally I started to write. I attended the Faber Academy Course in 2014. Then I re-wrote that awful first draft. And re-edited. My debut novel, Blue Gold, came out in May 2017 thanks to the wonderful Matthew Smith at Urbane Publications. Its two sequels, Rose Gold and White Gold, came out in 2018-19, forming the Gaia trilogy.

I joined The Society for Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) in 2018 when my interests turned towards a younger audience and recently won the July 2020 Slush-pile challenge. See details here.

I appear on Bill Buckley’s monthly Radio Reads show, discussing and recommending books at 2pm on the first Tuesday of every month along with fellow local author Claire Dyer. You can hear the latest show by clicking on my website via the Radio Reads tab.

About the Gaia trilogy:

In a world gasping for water, who can you trust?

Climate change and geopolitical tension have given rise to a new international threat - a world war over water.

This vital resource has become a precious commodity, and some will stop at nothing to control its flow.

When a satellite disappears over Iceland, Sim Atkins thinks he knows why. He is given the chance to join the Overseas Division and hunt for the terrorists responsible. But his new partner, Freda Brightwell, is aggrieved to be stuck with a rookie on such a deadly mission. Freda's misgivings are well-founded when their first assignment ends in disaster. 

Seeking redemption, the British agents follow the trail to a billionaires' tax haven in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean and uncover a web of deceit that threatens global war.

But who can they trust?

As the world edges ever closer to destruction, Sim and Freda must put their lives on the line to prevent Armageddon…

David Barker's gripping debut will thrill fans of Richard North Patterson, Scott Mariani and Steve Berry.