Simon Gilmore has had a lifetime of adventure and travel
which has inspired him to write his stories.

He was borne in Southampton, England in 1953. A year later he travelled by ship with his mother to Benghazi, Libya to meet his father, who was an officer in the army. Simon’s mother worked with the foreign office. His parents were both very intrepid people and lived a life far less ordinary than most.

After two and a half years in Libya they moved to Malaysia. Simon was schooled in Singapore and easily adapted to life in a vibrant, multicultural environment.
It was an exciting childhood at a time when the Far East was changing rapidly both politically, culturally and economically. Singapore was moving towards becoming an independent state and there was political unrest everywhere. Attacks on British and European families by rebel forces were common.

In 1964 Simon was sent to boarding school in in England while his parents finalised their affairs in Malaysia. Finally they returned to England and Simon was transferred to a Grammar School in West Sussex.
His parents were both highly accomplished sailors, which rubbed off on Simon and became important to him in his later years.

Simon’s interests at school were varied but he excelled in Music and Drama. However, from his early experiences of life in the Middle East and the Far East, he developed a vivid imagination and a keen interest in writing stories.
At school he also excelled in sport. In particular, sailing, fencing and rugby.
At one point he set his mind on a career in acting, but, despite having a determined drama teacher, his father discouraged it, so it was not to be. Those were very different times.

Simon left school at seventeen and went to London where he joined a rock band as the drummer.
For the following six years, he worked with various bands, including some well-known recording artists. Although it was an exciting time, Simon eventually became disillusioned with the music business and decided to embark on a new career.
He took a completely different path and landed a job in sales. He spent the next twenty years in the corporate arena, finally becoming a board director with a major international company. Later he ran leadership courses for various organisations.
In 1998 Simon left corporate life, turned a hobby into a business and started a yacht charter company.

Being influenced by different cultures and history, meeting fascinating people, travelling all over the world and experiencing so many aspects of life, Simon has conjured up many ideas for his stories.

His first book, “The Adventures of Mr Hawkins –The Golden Secret” tells the amazing story of a wild and treacherous journey of a young boy and a magical seagull who travel to a parallel world.

Simon is now working on more stories which he aims to have published in the near future.
His second book is called “A drink and a quick decision” and will be available soon.