Born in NorthernIreland at the same time Johnny Mathis held the UK number one chart with When a Child is Born (a coincidence, weassure you), Peter was first published at the age of 17 in the Simon &Schuster anthology Children of theTroubles, edited by Laurel Holliday, and followed in quick succession bynumerous other publications. The CamelTrail is his first novel.
Peter moved from Ireland to Londonin 1997 and, in 2010, fell out of the rat race for a quieter life in Yorkshire. He lives and works from home and is currentlyworking on his second novel.
The Story Behind This Book
I wrote this book for my family. My dad’s bother, my Uncle Kevin, died from DMD before I was born, at the age of 21. Also, my cousin, Alan Fleming, died of DMD. He was such a humorous guy – I always remember him smiling. And I’ll never forget the remote control lorry he used to let me play with (both our dads have been long-distance lorry drivers). But I didn’t want The Camel Trail to have a hidden message; I didn’t have an agenda for highlighting DMD as a little-discussed killer disease. So while Martin wants nothing more than to walk the Trail, there’s a lot of other stuff happening around him – the central character’s need to escape her violent husband, Kevin’s desire to fit in… Sarah’s blossoming feelings for Alan… And then Sarah’s husband is released from prison and comes after them… So I wrote the book for my Dad, John, and in memory of Kevin Merrigan and Alan Fleming.
