Jigsaw of Light follows a fifteen-year-old boy who receives a cryptic message asking for help from his father, who disappeared three years ago. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?

The DNA of this story has actually been in my head since I was a boy. While some kids may think it would be cool to have a magic carpet or a flying broomstick or something similar, I always wondered what it would be like to have a surfboard that could shoot off across oceans and go anywhere in the world. I’ve also always been fascinated with Atlantis and stories of ancient civilizations and myths. And lastly, like many people, I look at all the crazy stuff that is happening today, and I wonder what we’d actually need to do in order to save the world and make it better. And these were the key elements that inspired Jigsaw of Light. Of course, to find out exactly how all these things come together, you’ll have to read the book!

What was your writing process to ensure you captured the essence of the characters?

I approach characters like the advice I would give to anyone going to a party: dress up, not down, as you can always take some clothes off! So, I go into a lot more detail with my characters than ever makes it onto the page. I draw up a whole backstory so I know exactly who they are, what they’ve done, dreams, fears, motivations and so on. I’m quite a visual person, so I also make sure I can see them vividly in my mind. I often take certain personality traits from people that I know or have met before (but couldn’t possibly name names!) and play around with these (often magnifying them). I find this also helps when I’m trying to visualize how they speak, which then helps with dialogue.

What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?

Jigsaw of Light is a love letter to the sea and the calming, healing powers it has. Zeb is basically fairly broken at the start of the story and throughout his journey the ocean plays a big part in his healing process. Loss is another theme and for me surfing provides a good metaphor. You can catch a great wave and then that wave is gone forever. But knowing that there will always be more waves, is a good mindset to equate to life. And much of the subject matter in the book, history, myth, quantum mechanics, and so on, it’s all waves. Probably the main theme of the book is about balance, or rather duality. How good and evil can’t exist without the other, chaos and order, desire and apathy, sweet and sour, hot and cold – everything needs balance and this is key to many of the mysteries explored in the story. And surfing is all about balance. Basically, I think if I had titled my story The Philosophy of Surfing, that still would have made sense!

Can you tell us what the second book will be about and when it will be available for fans to purchase?

Hopefully, Jigsaw of Light provides a satisfactory ending, but it is merely the start of a series, and so (no spoilers here!) some of the things that are not fully revealed by the end will be explored in the second. The second story picks up about six months after Jigsaw of Light ends. Zeb, and the characters still around at the end of Jigsaw, are continuing to seek out the mysteries of Atlantis and its lost technology and knowledge. The trail leads them to a mysterious island where a deadly new threat is emerging. War is coming and Zeb must pick a side. But nothing is as it seems.

The second story will be released in the second half of 2024.