Big-hearted, aspiring author, a reluctant gardener, arrogant and stubborn, a champion for the disadvantaged; there must be at least 1001 descriptions you could use to try and describe me. And to be honest, they still wouldn’t capture my essence entirely. In my case, a picture does not describe a thousand words.

When you are trying to peddle your writing – there’s a certain dichotomy about how you describe yourself. Will people buy a book or story from a person self-described as a right bastard? (Not me – I assure you). Will you buy a book from someone who sold their soul to the devil barely three months after their first communion? (Not me).

Perhaps this is why authors biographies are so brief and non-descriptive – could it be that writers are trying to protect themselves against the most perceptive of their prospective readers. Protecting themselves against prying eyes and minds, and the value judgments people might slap on them. I don’t care, and neither should you.

But there is another more likely possibility and that is people don’t really care; they don’t really mind who they buy books from. The story, the characters, the plot, are both paramount and so they should be!

So that said, let the reading begin!

Here’s my very banal writer’s biography.

Roly Andrews lives in Nelson, NZ; in his spare time, he enjoys tramping. After many years of practicing, he is still trying to learn to play the trombone! Dreaming one day he might be good enough to play in a ska band. A champion for everyone, he has mentored rough sleepers and supported people affected by suicide. He advocates for the rights of people living with disabilities.