Published poet and award-winning author
“The only way of finding the limites of the possible is by going beyond them into the impossible” (Arthur C. Clarke)
My writing journey began at school, penning essays and articles for the school magazine, for the company magazine in my working life and proof-reader for all company legal documents, then took a back seat for many years until taking the plunge into writing poetry as a means of destressing and coping with a complicated life. An even deeper dive was entering a regional poetry competition, finding myself one of the winners. This meant reading said poem out in front of a public audience – my biggest fear, but it didn’t deter me. I went on be shortlisted in a national poetry competition run by a well-known prestigious company, and later had several pieces published in anthologies, but novel-writing is my real passion. Though writing in several genres, my favourite is paranormal. Not the blood-sucking, toe-curdling vampire sort, but of the unexplained and the mysterious, and along the way creating the character of Filton Shields. Like Filton, I explore hauntings, supernatural phenomena and all things weird and wonderful and everything in between.
So, I believe in ghosts, I hear you say. I do, but probably not in the way you might understand them. The world over, reaching far back into history, tales and stories of the paranormal exist. Of ghosts, of fairies, of guardian angels, re-incarnation, and visitors from outer space and UFOs. Far too many for there not to be something “out there”. Fascinated by these stories, I take my characters on great adventures into the realms of the unknown, forever seeking out the truth, a scientific rationale, always searching for answers. Sometimes the answers elude us; often the answers astound.
In 2004, I was shortlisted and runner-up for the Harry Bowling Prize, for the opening chapter of my novel Every Step of the Way. Not only was I dumbfounded but for the next year floated on a cloud, realising I was one step nearer reaching publication. The HB was and still is a well-respected prize specifically aimed at pre-published writers although winning doesn’t necessarily guarantee publication. In 2004 it was administered solely by the MBA agency, the entry criteria being the novel must set at least in part in London but could be in any genre. The first 10,000 words and synopsis were required. I had already written the first three chapters of Every Step of the Way, set in London, its genesis being the killer smog of 1952 centred in West London exploring the world of coffee bars and teddy boys, gang fights and the plight of women during that era.
Although the agency did not take Every Step, I was able to jump the slush piles and found a top literary agent willing to help me find a publisher but, unfortunately, at that time, it seemed publishers were unwilling to take a gamble on an unknown with a “slightly” different perspective on the genre. If it was based in the East End or in, say, Liverpool, it might have been taken up sooner, but then my storyline wouldn’t have worked in other locations, it’s setting is paramount. I later published Every Step through my own small publishing company I set up, reaching the dizzy heights of No.3 on Amazon for its genre and with excellent reviews.
In 2020, Whites Stones was published, a romantic mystery concerning a haunting and introducing Filton Shields, an Unexplained Phenomena Investigator, reaching No.13 in the Amazon charts for its genre. Both books also won Chill With a Book Awards. Recently completing Filton Shield’s next case (Moon Stones) and another in the series in progress (Five Stones), with more following, with second 1950/60s London story (Queenie Queenie) in the pipeline.
KIT DOMINO'S WORLD 