Julian Stockwin was born in the English town of Basingstoke in 1944. He worked and lived  in many parts of the world, including Australia and the Far East ‑ and now home is Corinthia, an eighteenth‑century house (which he shares with his wife Kathy and two Siamese cats) in a quiet part of Devon.

He wanted to go to sea ever since he can remember. His mother says that as a toddler he went up to sailors on the street, and on one occasion dragged home a dead sea bird because it smelled so much of the sea.

His uncle Tom Clay, a seaman in square-rigged ships who sailed around Cape Horn in the Cutty Sark, took Julian over this ship and also around the National Maritime Museum; this was a great influence on him - no one else in his family had any connection with the sea; his father served in the army during the war.

As a young boy Julian read everything about the sea, and was especially terrified by a description of a great storm, but longed to go to sea to experience a real one.

He attended the prestigious Harvey Grammar School, but his mind was captivated by seeing low grey shapes slip away over the horizon, outward bound to who knew where. He passed this sight every day on his way to school. Scholastic performance suffered!

In the hope of having the nonsense knocked out of him his father sent him at the tender age of fourteen to the Indefatigable, a tough sea-training school. This only strengthened his resolve for a life at sea, and he joined the Royal Navy at 15.

His family emigrated to Australia shortly afterwards, and he transferred to the Royal Australian Navy.

Julian served eight years and was eventually rated petty officer. He saw service around the world, including the Far East and South Sea islands. In Vietnam he served in a carrier task force and was on board Melbourne at the time of her disastrous peace time collision with Voyager.

Leaving the Navy was a wrench for Julian but he  wanted to take up the formal education he had missed by going to sea at such a young age. He enrolled at the University of Tasmania and graduated in Far Eastern studies and psychology. After teaching for two years he practised as an educational psychologist.

Then he met his future wife, Kathy, and they decided to seek adventure in Hong Kong. Julian initially did post-graduate  work in cross-cultural psychology and in the process was seduced by computers. Disillusioned with academic life he became involved in the manufacture and design of computers and later software development. Meanwhile, Kathy's career was developing as a journalist and they enjoyed the social life of a foreign correspondent. At this stage Julian renewed direct involvement with the Navy, being commissioned into the Royal Navy Reserve. He was later honoured to be appointed an MBE and retired as Lt Commander.

In 1990 Julian returned to the UK to be involved with a major project concerned with the strategic deployment of merchant shipping. This was an extremely high pressure environment, and in 1996 Kathy and Julian took stock ‑ her suggestion: that he write. And about the sea.

She saw his potential as a writer (where Julian admits he did not) and persuaded him to give it a go. He took a half‑time job lecturing in order to devote time to absorbing the craft of writing.

Julian says: “I'm ‘Old Navy’ with a deep respect and admiration for the service, so it had to be the Navy I'd write about. I chose Nelson's time, the great climax of the age of sail and a magnificent canvas for sea tales. This was an era when the sea was respected and wooed by men who did not yet have steam engines and brute force. I also wanted to bring the sea itself into a more prominent role.

I soon realised there were things from my time in the Navy that I wanted to bring to my writing; small things but evocative to this day ‑ a shimmering moonpath glittering on the water, the sound of voices from invisible night watchkeepers, the rich stink of land after months at sea, the comfort of a still hammock when the ship rolls about. There were darker moments, too. Savage storms at sea when you feel the presence of nature like a wild beast out of the cage.”

Kathy's skills as an editor were seminal in the process of Julian developing as a writer and finding a voice, and they now work full time as a close creative team.

KYDD TITLES PUBLISHED

The Thomas Kydd series is a projected 15 or more volumes, the story of one man's journey from pressed man to Admiral in the Age of Fighting Sail. The books are published in the UK by Hodder & Stoughton and by McBooks in the US, plus foreign language editions, audiobooks, large print and ebooks

Kydd (Book 1)
Thomas Kydd, a young wigmaker from Guildford in Surrey, is press ganged into King George's Navy. Despite the harsh realities of shipboard life he comes to love the sea, and takes up the challenge to become a true sailor.

I was soon turning over the pages almost indecently fast. Roll on, the promised adventures of Kydd and Renzi.  Independent

Artemis (Book 2)
Kydd is now a true Jack Tar aboard the crack frigate HMS Artemis ranging the seas for prey and prize money. It is a world away from his brutal introduction to the sea as a pressed man.

Seaflower (Book 3)
In a political act to save an officer's reputation, Kydd and other members of the crew of the ill fated Artemis are shipped out in haste to the Caribbean - where sugar is king and yellow jack a fearsome peril.

Stockwin writes with a level of intensity and clarity of emotion both dark and exhilarating. . Good Old Boat

Mutiny (Book 4)
After a daring rescue mission to Venice, Kydd finally sets sail for England, longed for after many years' absence, and finds himself at the centre of one of the most extraordinary events in English history – the Mutiny at the Nore.

A storming sea story that should carry a force nine warning! Northern Echo

Quarterdeck (Book 5)
After his brave display at the Battle of Camperdown Kydd is promoted to Acting Lieutenant, but if he is to hold onto his rank, he must become more than just a master sailor. He must become a gentleman.

Kydd is such an outstandingly real character that it is hard to remember you are reading fiction. Western Daily News

Tenacious (Book 6)
Thomas Kydd is in Halifax enjoying the recognition and favour of his fellow officers when Tenacious is summoned to join Horatio Nelson's taskforce on an urgent reconnaissance mission.

Fast action, great characters and tremendous dialogue make this, and the five previous Kydd books, top-of-the-line naval adventures. Illawarra Mercury

Command (Book 7)
Thrilled at his first command, a little brig-sloop called Teazer, Thomas Kydd must race to bring his ship to battle readiness.

The author sets a new standard in the genre of Napoleonic War naval stories." Nighthawk Patrol

The Admiral's Daughter (Book 8) was published simultaneously in the UK by Hodder & Stoughton and in the US by McBooks Press

Treachery (Book 9) was published simultaneously in the UK by Hodder & Stoughton and in the US by McBooks Press (in the US the book is titled: The Privateer's Revenge)

Invasion (Book 10) was published simultaneously in the UK by Hodder & Stoughton and in the US by McBooks Press

Credit Allan House (Hi-resolution)

Credit George Titus