About
Born in Eastbourne, to retired parents, Simon Denman grew up alternately on the beaches of a succession of English seaside towns, and in the historic, if somewhat austere boarding school of Christ's Hospital in Horsham, Sussex.
After graduating from the University of Essex with a degree in Electronic Engineering, he has spent longer than he likes to admit in the IT networking, communications, and Internet security industries, gradually moving from technical to marketing and management roles. During this time, he moved from the UK to Paris, back to the UK, over to Munich, across to the French Riviera, and finally back to England.
Far more importantly during this period, he was blessed with two beautiful and talented daughters, now at University themselves, and, in remarriage, the love of the most wonderful woman for whom a man could wish.
Following the publication and unexpected success of his first novel,"Connected" and, in the same year, the births of twins, he has recently moved to Cornwall with his wife and babies, where he is now working on a new novel.
While he no longer plays rugby, Simon is a moderately accomplished player of Jazz and classical trumpet, which he blows enthusiastically with any band or group that'll have him. Any remaining time is spent reading and writing.
The Usurper King (The Plantagenet Legacy Book 3)
Description
<p><span style="color:rgb(15,17,17);font-family:'Amazon Ember', Arial, sans-serif;font-size:14px;">First, he led his own uprising. Then he captured a forsaken king. Henry had no intention of taking the crown for himself; it was given to him by popular acclaim. Alas, it didn't take long to realize that that having the kingship was much less rewarding than striving for it. Only three months after his coronation, Henry IV had to face a rebellion led by Richard's disgruntled favorites. Repressive measures led to more discontent. His own supporters turned against him, demanding more than he could give. The haughty Percies precipitated the Battle of Shrewsbury which nearly cost him the throne—and his life.</span><br style="color:rgb(15,17,17);font-family:'Amazon Ember', Arial, sans-serif;font-size:14px;" /><span style="color:rgb(15,17,17);font-family:'Amazon Ember', Arial, sans-serif;font-size:14px;">To make matters worse, even after Richard II's funeral, the deposed monarch was rumored to be in Scotland, planning his return. The king just wouldn't stay down and malcontents wanted him back.</span></p>
Story Behind The Book
Years ago, at university, a fellow student had a breakdown and was admitted to the local psychiatric hospital. A few, who knew him well, went to visit and reported that he’d subsequently lost the plot and was now gabbling incomprehensibly of having found the answer to life, the universe and everything. Apparently it was all to do with concentric circles, which he proceeded to draw on every available surface including himself.
While most people seemed consumed with sadness and pity at this, my first thought was, “What if he really had discovered some universal truth?” Although I never seriously believed that he had, it was on that day that the seed of an idea lodged in my young brain – a seed that in the summer of 2002 would germinate into the drafting of the first three chapters of CONNECTED from a cabin in the French Alps.
I then returned to the reality of a career in IT marketing and the novel was relegated to the back-burner, where it sat simmering for another seven years. Finally, in the late summer of 2009, finding myself with an opportunity to take some time out, I picked up where I’d left off and in the following year, added those two long awaited words: THE END.
Over the next two years during weekends and holidays (for I’d since returned to gainful employment), I tweaked, cut, modified and generally tried to polish the above work into a novel worthy of publication. The result is CONNECTED.
I still sometimes wonder what became of that chap with his concentric circular obsession. With luck, and perhaps medication, he will have returned to life none the worse for his temporary descent into insanity. Maybe he went on to finish his studies and go on to great things. Or perhaps, tragically, he was never able to shake the euphoric delusion of finally understanding the true nature of reality. And maybe, just maybe, it was not a delusion at all.
