Graham Downs

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Graham Downs
Born1980
Alberton, Gauteng, South Africa
OccupationSoftware developer, writer
NationalitySouth African
Years active2012–present
Website
www.grahamdowns.co.za

Graham Downs is a South African writer. He was born in Alberton, Gauteng, South Africa in 1980. He is a full-time software developer who also writes and publishes fiction.[1]

Downs currently lives with his wife in Germiston, from where he commutes to his computer programming job in Rivonia. He has published three stories: A Petition to Magic, Heritage of Deceit, and Stingers.[2]

Life and education[]

Downs grew up in Alberton, Gauteng, South Africa in the 1980s and 1990s. In the year he turned six, he was enrolled in Alberton Primary School, where his mother was a Grade One teacher, and he ended up in her class. She instilled in him a love of reading and writing from a very early age, and by the end of his Grade One year, his reading level was a year above other children his age. Throughout Primary School, he participated in various reading competitions, and he graduated to public speaking and debating in High School.[3]

Immediately after leaving school, Downs got a job as a computer programmer. Throughout his adult life, however, he maintained his passion for reading and writing. After a long time of feeling too self-conscious to attempt it, he self-published his first short story, A Petition to Magic.[3]

Works[]

A Petition to Magic[]

Downs' first work, A Petition to Magic was published in 2012 when he was 32 years old.[4] It was first published as an epub formatted ebook on 23 December 2012, through the self-publishing site Smashwords,[5] and it was later released (31 March 2014) as a paperback using the print-on-demand service Lulu and distributed to major book retailers worldwide.[6]

It is a short story, which centres around a wizard with a guilty secret, along with a young Queen and the way she is dealing with her new status. Tina Stanciu from Readers' Favorite described the book as reading more like a lesson than a short story, and it garnered a five-star review on that website.[4]

The story also garnered an 8.3 rating on the Reading is My Drug blog, where Samuel Alexander described it as "...a light, entertaining somewhat enjoyable read."[7]

Stingers[]

Stingers were Downs' third story but was published second, in December 2013.[4] It was included in the short story anthology, I am not Frazzle! And other stories for grown-ups.[8]

Stingers is about a boy called James Clarke, who suffers from bullying in school.[2] On 16 June 2014, it was simultaneously released as an epub formatted ebook[9] on Smashwords, and paperback[10] and hardcover[11] on Lulu.

Heritage of Deceit[]

While I am not Frazzle! was being prepared for release, Downs released his second story, Heritage of Deceit, on 1 December 2013.[4] The first release of the book was as an epub formatted book on Smashwords.[12] It was subsequently released as a paperback on Lulu on 23 January 2014,[13] and as a hardcover on 28 March 2014.[14]

Heritage of Deceit is about a man working in an office, who thinks he has found evidence of a genocide that happened some time before.[15]

The MaineMuse reviewer described Heritage of Deceit as a "...delightful short read", wishing only that it could have been longer, so that she could have enjoyed it more.[16]

Book reviewing[]

Downs is active on the book reviewing site Goodreads, where he posts regular reviews.[2]

References[]

  1. ^ Njoku, David (9 December 2013). "Interview with Graham Downs, author of Heritage of Deceit". Indie Author Land. Retrieved 27 June 2014.
  2. ^ a b c "Author Interview—Graham Downs". Books, Blogs, and Bits. 6 January 2014. Archived from the original on 15 July 2014. Retrieved 27 June 2014.
  3. ^ a b Graham, Chris (23 October 2013). "Guest Author Graham Downs". Chris the Story Reading Ape's Blog. Retrieved 27 June 2014.
  4. ^ a b c d Stanciu, Tina (16 April 2014). "Book Review of A Petition to Magic". Reader's Favorite: Book Reviews and Award Contest. Retrieved 27 June 2014.
  5. ^ Downs, Graham (2012). A Petition to Magic. ISBN 9781301232055.
  6. ^ Downs, Graham (2014) [2012]. A Petition to Magic. ISBN 9781304801517.
  7. ^ Alexander, Samuel (31 March 2014). "A Petition To Magic (review)". Reading is My Drug. Retrieved 27 June 2014.
  8. ^ "I am not Frazzle!". Retrieved 27 June 2014.
  9. ^ Downs, Graham (2014). Stingers. ISBN 9781310610851.
  10. ^ Downs, Graham (2014). Stingers. ISBN 9781312287075.
  11. ^ Downs, Graham (2014). Stingers. ISBN 9781312284395.
  12. ^ Downs, Graham (2013). Heritage of Deceit. ISBN 9781301383115.
  13. ^ Downs, Graham (2014) [2013]. Heritage of Deceit. ISBN 9781304669599.
  14. ^ Downs, Graham (2014) [2013]. Heritage of Deceit. ISBN 9781312037700.
  15. ^ "Heritage of Deceit by Graham Downs". Virtual Writers, Inc. – Author Essentials. 21 March 2014. Retrieved 27 June 2014.
  16. ^ "Heritage of Deceit (review)". MainMuse. 20 May 2014. Retrieved 27 June 2014.

External links[]

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