A former academic, Third World aid project manager, filmmaker, screenwriter and author based in Criccieth is adding to his CV.

Sid Stephenson has three books out right now, and says the second book film rights have been sold to Hollywood.

All the books are available worldwide in bookshops and he is 80 per cent through his fourth.

Speaking to First Person about his background, Sid said: “My mother was an Austrian national. My father was a British Army serviceman.

“I grew up in Cumbria and started my working life as an apprentice bricklayer.

“I worked in the construction industry for 12 years, then responded to an advert which took me into post-16 education training young people in colleges.

“I loved working in education. I gained a teaching degree, a second degree, then finally a Masters from Cambridge.

“I worked in senior management in colleges, joining Cambridge University for the last 14 years before retirement.

“I had a passionate love of travel and an abiding interest in overseas aid, which took me into many Third World aid projects. Employers were always pleased to second me for extended periods.”

Then the Covid pandemic hit.

“Lockdown changed my life, and I began to write fiction for the first time,” said Sid.

“I write in a genre called ‘Scrovel’. It mixes screenwriting and novel. Fiction is made up three elements – location/action, dialogue and introspective text. In the latter, the author can describe anything they want to talk about. Scrovel has no introspective text, so the story is told by vivid descriptions of location and action, then getting characters to tell the story through dialogue and actions.

“Scrovel is specifically created for lovers of reading and film. It is difficult to write, because of losing the facility of introspective text, but for this writer, it’s more exciting and fulfilling.

“I have three books published at the moment, one in production. I have several screenplays which are gathering dust on a shelf.”

The books are Sinkhole, Redemption and Langtry.

“Sinkhole is rooted in personal experience, deals with political assassination and how two small town men play their part in changing political trajectory at the very highest levels of government,” Sid explained.

“Redemption, a sequel to Sinkhole, is 80 per cent written.

“Langtry is set in south-west Texas at the turn of the century. Rooted in history, it illustrates the vast sweeping changes brought to rural life by the relentless industrial revolution.

“The film rights to Langtry have been purchased by a major Hollywood studio.

“Bunyip is set in South Australia in the cusp of the relationship between Australia’s modern and ancient cultures.

“The Bunyip is a mythical creature, reality to some, myth to others. The myth believers confront a reality that is difficult to discredit. The myth believers are vindicated, but at a cost...”

To feature in First Person or to nominate someone who should, email Julie McNicholls Vale at [email protected]