Author Tim Taylor

Val Penny ♦ August 12, 2020 ♦ Leave a comment

It is a pleasure to introduce you to author and poet, Tim E Taylor today. Tim writes novels, poetry and short stories. His two novels were published by Crooked Cat Books.

His debut novel, Zeus of Ithome is ground breaking historical fiction. It tells a tale set in Greece, 373 BC where for three centuries, the Messenian people have been brutally subjugated by their Spartan neighbours and forced to work the land as helot slaves. Diocles, a seventeen-year-old helot, has known no other life but servitude.  After an encounter with Spartan assassins, he is forced to flee, leaving behind his family and his sweetheart, Elpis. On Mount Ithome, the ancient sanctuary of the Messenians, he meets Aristomenes, an old rebel who still remembers the proud history of their people and clings to a prophecy that they will one day win back their freedom.  A forlorn hope, perhaps. But elsewhere in Greece there are others too who believe it is time that the power of Sparta was broken.

Tim’s second novel, Revolution Day, starts when Carlos Almanzor has been the ruler of his country for 37 years. Now in his seventies, he is feeling his age and seeing enemies around every corner. And with good reason: his Vice-President, Manuel Jimenez, though outwardly loyal, is burning with frustration at his subordinate position. Meanwhile, Carlos’ estranged and imprisoned wife Juanita recalls the revolution that brought him to power and how, once a liberal idealist, he changed over time into an autocrat and embraced repression as the means of sustaining his position. In time, as Manuel makes his own bid for power, Juanita will find herself an unwitting participant in his plans.

Tim’s most recent book is a collection of poetry, Sea Without a Shore. In this debut collection, Tim Taylor explores the transformative effect of the wild Yorkshire landscape he now calls home. He expertly immerses the reader in the landscapes and history of the South Pennines before challenging our senses with brave new perceptions from house plants to outer space. Set in two distinct parts, this is a debut pamphlet that takes the reader from the dark peaks of Bleaklow and Black Hill (Ungrimming) to the far reaches of our solar system (Pioneer) and back to the living room (The House Plant). Poetry at its very best, highly-innovative and effortless; a feast of words to transform your day.

The Author

Originally from North Staffordshire, since 2001 Tim has lived in Meltham with his wife Rosa. He divides his time between creative writing, academic research and part-time teaching and other work for Leeds and Huddersfield Universities.

Born in 1960 in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, Tim grew up near Leek. He went to Newcastle-under-Lyme High School, then studied Classics at Pembroke College, Oxford. After graduating he moved to London and spent a couple of years playing guitar in a rock band. When it became clear that he was never going to be a rock star, he sadly knuckled down and joined the Civil Service, where he did a wide range of jobs before leaving in 2011 to spend more time writing. While still in the Civil Service Tim studied part time for a PhD in Philosophy at Birkbeck, University of London, achieving it in 2007. He is now a visiting research fellow at the Interdisciplinary Ethics Applied Centre at the University of Leeds.

Tim writes poetry, novels and short fiction – you can find samples of all three on this blog. His most recent publication is a poetry collection, Sea Without a Shore, published by Maytree Press in May 2019 – his poems have also appeared in various anthologies and magazines such as Acumen, Orbis and Pennine Platform.  Tim has also has published two novels with Crooked Cat: Zeus of Ithome (a finalist in the 2014 Chaucer Awards for historical fiction) follows the struggle of the ancient Messenian people to free themselves from Sparta. His second, Revolution Day, is about an ageing dictator who is losing his grip as his vice-President plots against him. He has also published a non-fiction book, Knowing What is Good For You (Palgrave Macmillan 2012), on the philosophy of well-being.  Tim also plays electric and acoustic guitar and a little piano, and like to walk up hills.

Val Penny