Short author biography:I’m a Working-Class writer from the North. My Dad was a Builders’ Labourer and my Mum a Cleaner. I work as a Care Assistant and part-time author. I am self-educated, having left school with no formal qualifications. However, I attended night school in my 30’s and got a grade A in ‘A’ level Psychology. Then a 2:1 Psychology (Hons) Degree with the Open University. Mind and behaviour have always fascinated me. This is why my debut novel explores the impact on humanity of new sentient beings in the form of AI robots. The Sentient Ones is my debut novel.Since writing this novel, I have written five short stories. The first story is historical fantasy fiction. The other four stories are Christmas ghost stories, for an anthology I am planning. I also have plans for a sequel to this novel, exploring cybernetics.I got the idea for the current novel following a conversation with a National Trust guide at Speke Hall, Liverpool. I asked about a wood carving depicting a slave ship. She told me that it depicted the families’ links with the slave trade. We then, for whatever reason, talked about the explosion in modern technology. Particularly AI and the possible threats to humanity. I then suggested that perhaps in the future, we will become enslaved by AI. She agreed and then I thought that it would probably make a good novel. From that moment, I began to plan it and began writing a few days later. I did not want to write another ‘robots kill humans’ story. I wanted to explore the psychological, philosophical, and even theological aspects, as to how humanity would react to another highly intelligent sentient being. I wanted to create a more nuanced story than most other AI novels.Comparisons:My novel should appeal to fans of HG Wells, particularly the War of the worlds. As I have tried to capture that same feeling of hopelessness against an all-powerful entity. Other authors and books which I could compare my work to are, Mary Shelley’s ‘Frankenstein’ and Brian Aldiss’s, ‘Super Toys Last All Summer Long’.Read more about this authorRead less about this author