About
I am a writer from Hull, in the North of England, living in Belgium.
I also help run a publishing company called Night Publishing (http://www.nightpublishing.com) which is dedicated to the cause that "all good books should be published", via its Night Reading (http://nightreading.ning.com) community.
I have currently written 10 novels and one business book, and edited one collection of short stories:
1. Blood & Marriage
2. Little Fingers
3. Girl On a Bar Stool
4. Shade+Shadows
5. Fishing, for Christians
6. The Ghoul Who Once
7. The Dance of the Pheasodile
8. The Blue Food Revolution
9. (Just like) El Cid's Bloomers
10. Mission
11. Marketers from Mars (brand marketing book)
12. .... at last! (short stories, editor and contributor)
My most popular books are 'Girl On A Bar Stool', 'The Dance of the Pheasodile' and 'Missio'. 'The Blue Food Revolution' gets love / hate reactions.
Learning to Breathe Fire: The Rise of CrossFit and the Primal Future of Fitness
Description
<p><b>The absorbing, definitive account of CrossFit's origins, its explosive grassroots growth, and its emergence as a global phenomenon.</b><br /> <br />One of the most illuminating books ever on a sports subculture, <i>Learning to Breathe Fire </i>combines vivid sports writing with a thoughtful meditation on what it means to be human. In the book, veteran journalist J.C. Herz explains the science of maximum effort, why the modern gym fails an obese society, and the psychic rewards of ending up on the floor feeling as though you're about to die. <br /> <br />The story traces CrossFit’s rise, from a single underground gym in Santa Cruz to its adoption as the workout of choice for elite special forces, firefighters and cops, to its popularity as the go-to fitness routine for regular Joes and Janes. Especially riveting is Herz’s description of The CrossFit Games, which begin as an informal throw-down on a California ranch and evolve into a televised global proving ground for the fittest men and women on Earth, as well as hundreds of thousands of lesser mortals. <br /> <br />In her portrayal of the sport's star athletes, its passionate coaches and its “chief armorer,” Rogue Fitness, Herz powerfully evokes the uniqueness of a fitness culture that cultivates primal fierceness in average people. And in the shared ordeal of an all-consuming workout, she unearths the ritual intensity that's been with us since humans invented sports, showing us how, on a deep level, we're all tribal hunters and first responders, waiting for the signal to go all-out. </p>
Story Behind The Book
There is no real story behind the book beyond a conversation with British singer-songwriter Joe Solo about the difficulty of writing about the First World War.
This sparked one of the 'Magogia' stories here which satirises war by giving it an office worker ethos with shopping days and flexitime.
The magical-realist stories grew from there.
This is a book that some people absolutely love and others absolutely loathe. You will know which definitively after the first chapter.
In its original paperback version it is literally 'revolutionary' - the 'his' stories read one way, the 'her' stories read the other, and you have to flip the book between the two, reading them in whatever order you like. Sadly this is not possible here.
Reviews
<p style="margin:0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><strong><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#003366;font-size:10pt;" lang="en-gb" xml:lang="en-gb">Comment from Bob Ellal, author of ‘By These Things Men Live’:</span></strong><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#003366;font-size:10pt;" lang="en-gb" xml:lang="en-gb"> You have the rare ability to create realities that re at tangents to our own apparent reality. You do it effortlessly, yet with great precision. The parallel worlds you create are entirely believable and much more fun. I have to tell you, you have both great storytelling ability and a facility with English that I admire to the point of envy. Your imagination is a catalyst; I always think of new ideas to pursue while reading your works. It brings out the thief in me!<br /></span></p>
<p><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#003366;font-size:10pt;" lang="en-gb" xml:lang="en-gb"><strong>Comment from Sue Edwards, author of ‘A Boy Called George’:</strong></span><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#003366;font-size:10pt;" lang="en-gb" xml:lang="en-gb"> Where on earth do you lot get your imagination? This is great. I was totally engrossed.</span><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#333333;font-size:10pt;" lang="en-gb" xml:lang="en-gb"></span></p>
