ABOUT ME
I have been writing for most of my life. I published my first magazine article at the age of thirteen and never quite got over the thrill of being paid for it. After university, I was employed as a freelance speechwriter by politicians, bankers and businessmen in Westminster and The City of London. I continued writing when I worked in the UK and abroad as a lobbyist; when I became head of PR for a classical music record company and even when I set up my own business in the Far East selling optical disc technology. Articles on music, arts, travel, food, politics & business were fun to write. I really liked writing humorous pieces for in-flight magazines or the 'glossies'.
It never occurred to me to write a book. A novel is a big undertaking and like so many, I was deterred not just by the quantity of work involved but the additional struggle to get a book accepted by a publisher. My business in Asia crashed. I returned to UK with virtually nothing. I set up a business selling leather goods at game fairs. I was soon doing fifty shows a year and (surprise, surprise) writing about this in the shooting press. The game fair circuit is like an alternative reality which only takes place at weekends in different locations around the country.
Flogging the Field virtually wrote itself. Most of the events described in the book actually happened. I hope that the book reflects my affection for the quality and humour of the traders I have worked with over the years. A fellow trader summed up my approach to writing comedy like this:
'It's not like you've made anything up, is it. You've just stuck it together in a different order; haven't you?'
I think that's fair.
I live near Monmouth and have a son, Alexander, and a daughter, Olivia. For the past decade, I have written a monthly column on game fairs and country shows for Gun Trade News (https://philipmoss.wordpress.com/).