STORY COMPLETE

WRITER Martin Hughes is launching his first book in the kingdom after having put the project on hold since the first Gulf War.

The music and drama specialist who teaches at Naseem International School began writing Hometown while he was holed up in his apartment at the peak of the 1991 conflict.

Mr Hughes, 50, who lives in Hamad Town, said: “I was stuck in my flat in Adliya and decided to finally follow up on the idea I had about a country lad getting involved with gangs, blackmail and murder.

“I started the story about a young man called Ryan at the top of a valley, in the dark and rain, looking back down at the house where he grew up in and remembering his past. And, so it started.

“Sadly, after writing around 20,000 words, I just put it to one side and forgot about it. Then in December 2011, two people jogged my memory and inspired me to get back to it and finish it. One was Alan Gibbons, an English author of children’s books who visited our school, and the other was our school librarian, Ms Wilson, who has written three books herself.

“I am also inspired by John Grisham and Jeffery Archer for their talent to write so simply and yet keep the reader hooked, turning the pages. That’s what I aspire to do in my writing. Other authors I admire are Kathy Reichs, Stephen King, Roddy Doyle, Jon Kabat-Zinn, Harlan Coben and Jeffery Deaver.”  

With his new-found inspiration, Mr Hughes began typing again and completed the story about  greed, crime, wealth and corruption.

The story moves across three countries – Ireland, Holland and Oman – tracing the lives of Ryan Bradley, his new friends and the dubious, Stefan. The plot is thick with suspicion, precision training and the need to expect the unexpected.

Hometown, which is currently an e-book available through Authorhouse, Amazon and Barnes & Noble, will be released as a hardcopy and will be placed locally on sale at Jashanmal’s in the next few weeks.

The book went live in June and feedback and sales so far have been ‘very encouraging’. A statement from the publishers said: “Hughes has dipped into his own experiences to create strong characters, glimpses into intense training sessions and detailed descriptions of the land.”

Mr Hughes’ love of writing began as a child. He said: “I’ve always wanted to write a book as I have a vivid imagination. Even when I was in elementary school I would write pages on selected topics while my peers would write paragraphs. My handwriting was terrible then but my teacher, Mrs McPhillips, would still read the story to the class.”

With his first book in the bag he has begun another fiction novel called Luke Miller. Although still in the early stages, Mr Hughes says it’s about a boy living a very happy and peaceful life with his family in Everglade City, Florida, when shocking events bring the 14-year-old to commit murder.

Balancing his writing with his teaching work has been a challenge but Mr Hughes says it’s worth the effort.

“Like anything you really want in life, sacrifices have to be made. With my schedule for writing, I come home from work at 3.30pm, grab a bite or go for my run, then it’s down to the computer and researching and writing till nine or ten at night. Weekends also will be mostly spent writing,” he said.

And it’s not just teaching and writing that fills his time. He is also the lead vocalist with the Bahraini Progressive Rock band Osiris, a dedicated marathon runner, diver and a certified lifeguard.

Originally from Co. Monaghan, Ireland, Mr Hughes has been living in Bahrain for 25 years and despite the unrest, the kingdom still remains dear to his heart.

He said: “I have been living here for 25 years and it has become my second home. Despite the current troubles it is still a very safe place to live, I believe, with all the freedoms, friendliness and open-mindedness you would expect from a western culture.

“I would hope readers would connect well with the characters and enjoy the pace and action of the book. At least half of the story is set in Oman – in Hatta and Dibba – so there are many aspects which the readers here in Bahrain could identify with, such as the heat, humidity, food, landscape and so on,” he added.