Sean Buckley only became an author by
chance. In 2010 Sean was diagnosed with a particularly aggressive form of
psoriatic arthritis. The rapid spread of which and the resulting struggle to
combat pain and crippling joint damage led to Sean retiring from business life
in 2013.
After spending almost thirty successful
years working with some of the world`s leading brands and retailers in the
fashion and outdoor industries, forced retirement came as a total culture
shock. Unable to work in what he considered the traditional sense, writing by
means of speech recognition software became a means to keeping his mind active.
Sean writes from a unique perspective as someone who has lived and breathed in
the cosseted world of the senior executive where life was the constant round of
first class from one international fashion show to the next. Characters in the
books often stay in the same hotels and eat in the restaurants all of which
were once part of Sean’s daily life and are described with atmospheric
detail.
Crime thrillers had always interested him
so it was inevitable that this would be his chosen genre. The enduring mystery
surrounding the death of the Italian banker Roberto Calvi appealed because of
the sheer quantity of conspiracy theories that had evolved around the case.
Several false starts later and after devouring information from books,
newspapers and television a clear vision of the characters and how they
interacted formed in his mind. The books have developed into a platform to
explore the complexity of conspiracy theory. References throughout the books to
the fleur-de-lis has
resulted in it becoming something of a brand logo for Sean.
The successful publication of The Calvi
Parallax in July 2014 was quickly followed by The Calvi Continuance novellas, Arlo
Negri and Alex Bale in 2014. The latest book in the Ereptio Series,
Sean has also released a very successful
series of Adult Colouring Books after being introduced to the idea of mindfulness as a complimentary treatment
to his own condition in early 2014.
Currently Sean’s books have sold in
thirty-three countries around the world and despite having not been translated
have sold extremely well in Austria, Germany, Sweden, Denmark and Norway.
Sean is married with one child and still
lives in Manchester despite the climate and the effect that it has on his
arthritis. A lover of sport in general, Sean is a lifelong fan of Manchester
City and religiously attends games along with his family.
Quorum
The Arab Spring that offered hope to millions has withered and died as civil war and terror engulf much of the Middle East. Russia has annexed Crimea and continues to support rebels throughout the Ukraine. In Gaza Israeli and Hamas forces continue to fight as the West increases the pressure on Israel to find a permanent resolution to the conflict. The war in Syria has ripped the country apart and a new Jihadist group calling itself Islamic State has emerged to control vast swathes of Syria and Iraq to dispense a barbarism not seen since the Middle Ages. The flow of refugees from the war ravaged areas of Africa and the Middle East increasingly resembles a tsunami of human suffering that threatens the very infrastructure of the EU. As the tentacles of terror touch its borders it seems like only a matter of time before the West is drawn into what could develop into a new World War. When Gianfranco Molinari of the newly formed European Financial Bureau, gets drawn into investigating the seemingly obscure murders of two men in the quiet Danish city of Odense it soon becomes apparent that he is in a race against time where the very existence of Europe as we know it is at stake.
Friday 13th
November 2015 is a date that will be etched into my mind until the day I die.
I, like all rational minded people was shocked and appalled as I watched the
events unfold on my television. Unfortunately, that is not totally true. I was
not shocked. I was just shocked that what I had written two or three months
earlier seemed to be unfolding before my eyes. I was hit by a wave of
self-doubt. The book. My new book. The one I had researched, nurtured, written,
then re-written time and time again until the words on the page fitted with the
pictures in my mind, that book. It was only a story but did I have the right to
profit from something that so closely mirrored the events in Paris. It was my
baby, over a year`s worth of work and I wanted it out there but the thought
that people might think I was trying to profit from the pain of others had me
on the verge of pulling the book from sale. Finally, I turned to a community of
UK writers and asked them the question. The response from them was unanimous,
with no deliberate intent to profit from the atrocities the book should remain
published.
Hindsight is a
wonderful thing. So now not much more than a week later I`m pleased that my
book is out there. It poses questions of ethics, morality and jurisdiction of
the characters. It is those same questions that our politicians now face. In
the book I make reference to a fictional military operation and then on Sunday
I read the article by Jimmy McCloskey, published in the Daily Star titled, “SAS hit squad
to wipe out ISIS: UK, US and French forces to pick off terror nuts”. I thought
this should worry me but it didn`t. It was then that I realised that the people
whose advice I had sought were right. The book should remain published. In fact,
it is my duty as a responsible citizen and member of society to publish my
work. I like many other authors am free from the constraints imposed on
journalists by editors, by publishers and media owners. If reality is to mirror
fiction, then fiction writers need to write and be read. Extremism in all its
forms, political, religious, xenophobic, abhorrent or not, must be explored by
those of us not burdened by censorship. I will leave you with a famous quote,
one that seems appropriate under the circumstance. It is often attributed to
the Eighteenth Century politician and philosopher Edmund Burke but the origin
is less important than the message.
“All that is necessary for the triumph
of evil is that good men do nothing.”
Quorum was published on 30 October 2015
Amazon
Author Page, Amazon
link to the book Quorum, Website link, Link to
Mindfulness website - Relaxartation.
