In Brief
Author of military intelligence thrillers, a sci-fi alternate history and a couple of books of daft poems, Ian’s passion for writing started back in his primary school days, was indulged throughout high school and kept him sane during a 20-year military intelligence career. Vast numbers of unseen and unpublished stories and poems littered his notebooks and hard drives, but it wasn’t until he had ‘retired’ from the Service and moved to Western Australia that he decided to knuckle-down and start writing his first novel. After a decade of prevarication he finally achieved his goal and the result was, A Time to Every Purpose, published in 2014. Since then, he has written further novels, poetry anthologies, a non-fiction guide to publishing and been employed as a ghost-writer on a number of other international projects. He holds a Masters in Creative Writing from the University of Hull.
Irish Roots
Born in Belfast in 1966, Ian grew up in Larne, on the magnificent North Antrim coast of Northern Ireland. This was during a time referred to by the rest of the world as “The Troubles” and referred to by him and the rest of the people he went to school with as ‘childhood’.
Ex Military Intelligence
Knowing what he wanted to do by the time he was seven, it took him another eleven years to grow tall enough to fulfil his boyhood ambition of joining the Royal Air Force as an aircraft avionics technician. His first posting was to one of the UK’s fighter stations just in time to see the last hurrahs of the Cold War. He still shakes his head at how matter-of-factly he and his comrades accepted that World War III was just around the corner. Seeing an opportunity for something a little out of the ordinary, and a chance to stop being covered in aviation fuel, he volunteered to work within a highly specialised (and at one time secret), Electronic Warfare Unit. From there, he was selected for commissioning as an Air Force Intelligence Officer.
Serving in a variety of roles, including qualified targeteer and instructor at the Defence Intelligence School, he retired from the military in 2004 and relocated to Western Australia to establish a management training company.
Throughout all of his travels and various jobs, he was always a writer. From short stories to poems and rhymes he looked upon it as a hobby but knew that, one day, he’d get around to writing a novel. Finding himself with a weekly train commute in 2009 he felt this was the opportunity he’d been waiting for and so began the story that was to become ‘A Time To Every Purpose”.
International Speaker
Gaining successful reviews from press and readers alike, he decided to embark on a series of detective stories that would become the Wright & Tran novels.
Making the choice to publish independently, Ian also established the Book Reality Experience to assist other would-be indie authors. He now provides workshops and seminars that train the skills needed to successfully harness publish-on-demand technology. An accomplished speaker and facilitator, Ian has hosted talks, workshops and given keynote speeches throughout Australia and the United Kingdom. He has been a session host and guest speaker at the Margaret River Readers and Writers Festival and the Perth Writers Festival (PWF) as well as being a speaker on panels at the London Book Fair, CrimeFest (UK) and the Tamar Valley Writers Festival in Tasmania.
Living in the idyllic surrounds of Western Australia’s rural South West, he relaxes by drinking copious amounts of bourbon in an effort to harness his inner Hemingway and when stumped for his next chapter, gazes out his study window at the serenity of a beautiful estuary and the slightly mad antics of a resident mob of kangaroos. He’s yet to hear any of them call for help down a mineshaft.
We thoroughly enjoyed listening to the guest speaker, Ian Andrew, at the Harvey function. His life story was so interesting and the way he conveyed it, we could have listened to him for hours.
An evening with Ian Andrew is not so much about the Books he has written but is a life story that has inspired the author to create the characters and stories he has. Time well spent with an inspiring, humorous person. Thank you for taking the time to share with us. “Loved it”
The workshop on self-publishing was a marvellous evening. My regret is that it couldn’t have been longer. It was promised to be ‘Fact and fun filled’ and it most certainly was. I haven’t laughed or learned so much in a long time. Many thanks and when can we do another one?
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