When Teignmouth resident Tony Brown started writing short stories 30 years ago he never dreamt it would turn into a writing career and a possible business. Now, as he releases his fifth book on his own imprint label he's looking further than his own work and towards that of other local authors. His own writings have only begun to flow after a slow start.
 | | The cover for Dangerous Friends |
"I started doing writing classes about 30 years ago doing short stories but never did anything about them," said Tony, who's 54. "Work got in the way and travelling abroad so I never got the chance to finish anything, I only returned to it seriously in the last year to 18 months." His latest book is a sci-fi thriller based largely in Devon, a location not used enough in literature. "It's an interesting area and there's not a lot of books written except for historical books, the contemporary use is very small," said Tony. "I thought it would be interesting to have places people could go to and wouldn't it be great to have a tourist trail in Devon, Tony Brown... Well I can dream." His latest novel, Dangerous Friends, is set around Torquay, the second book will be set in Teigmouth, Torquay and the South Hams, and the final instalment moves on to Noss Mayo and Plymouth. "Dangerous Friends is about someone who can move between parallel worlds, his father invented the mechanism," said Tony.
 | | Tony Brown |
"That's the only link the Earth has but other parallel worlds are more heavily linked together." As in today's society each world's own regulations and resources are used by the others for their own gain, one world in particular. "What the powerful universe wants to do is take over the other parallel worlds," said Tony. "One world is set against other worlds and needs to summon up more powerful forces. It's increasingly drawing more and more power to itself." Beyond his own novels, Tony hopes his small company might become a stepping stone for other local authors. "I set up my own imprint company and I've got a greater ambition to grow the company and encourage local authors," admitted Tony. "A lot of local authors should stay local, write for themselves and their family which is ok but there's some people who deserve a national audience."
 | | Tony's book, Return of the Devil |
Tony is hoping to encourage these local talents to put their work into books and then use the links he's created through distributing his own novels. "The problem is often not in the publishing but in the distribution. I'm hoping for authors who can reach a national standard and give them a foot up." Tony has already enlisted national bookshop chains to sell Dangerous Friends in their local stores and hopes for a wide audience with libraries and local bookstores involved. The book is also available online as a paperback or ebook on Tony's website which is linked on this page. Dangerous Friends - Out now, published by Cadenza Press - £7.99 - ISBN: 1-905363-82-6 | 
