@JamesMHopkins

/JamesMHopkinsCreative

It is an important thing as an adult to continually have something that you can always get better at. For me I have always had a creative outlet I have allowed to absorb me; an activity that I can focus on and improve at little by little, taking from it small regular senses of success or achievement. Writing itself - with music and bass guitar before that - is for me a perfect method of escape from the world. The other thing it gives me is a way to legitimise my aloof and fantastical nature; and a way that I can share that with the world.

My first forays into reading completely obsessed me with developed worlds and engaging characters. The earliest I can remember being the Chronicles of Narnia (I read the whole series cover to cover around the age of six or seven, I couldn't even eat without one of the books in my hand) and the second being The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings (I remember reading this for a second time instantly after reading the last word from the first and probably has been read by me around seven times in total). My more recent excursions have taken me through all fifteen Wheel of Time books (rereading early ones in the gaps between releases) taking a total of twelve years between reading the first word of book one to the last of book fourteen (a late prequel accounting for the fifteenth).

In real life, have an intelligent wife who you can follow HERE, who gives me amazing support and I fully realise her belief in what I do; my biggest fan and harshest critique. She has given me two wonderful son, whom we are enjoying fully. Watching them learn about the world is distinctly fascinating.

Prior to writing, my creativity was expressed through the bass guitar. Learning from DVDs of Victor Wooten, Stanley Clark and the almighty Geddy Lee, I played studiously from the age of fifteen and, although time does not permit very often, I still get to enjoy it from time to time. I have been lucky enough to gig with a few bands, the most notable being Pistola Kicks and Dirty Thrills.

I was once told that the only thing that no-one can take from you is your knowledge. I try to make the most of that fact and I indulge myself in the world of science, particularly chemistry and physics; subjects that I find fascinating. I am also keenly interested in languages, whether that is English or foreign (to me) languages. I decided to learn Arabic on the basis that I love a challenge and a challenge it certainly it is for me, but it is very rewarding to speak with people from other cultures and learn new insights from them.

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@James_M_Hopkins