eric hartley's creative writing

Eric has been writing on and off for years, but in recent years doing a creative writing degree at the University of Hull has spurred him on to actually get something finished.

'Ross Blane and the Sons of Horus' was completed in the autumn of 2009 and Eric is currently trying to find an agent to represent him.

Ross Blane is thirteen and wakes up after an accident to find that he can talk to animals. And they talk back (sometimes more than he would like). Soon he is being pursued by Unit Seven (a sinister government agency), a mentally unstable ex-policeman with a name like a breakfast cereal, and a secret brotherhood which believes that he is the reincarnation of an Ancient Egyptian god. Kidnapped and taken to Egypt, can Ross escape and be reunited with his beloved King Charles Spaniel, Sam?

Suitable for the 9-12 year old category as well as younger teenagers, this is a fast-paced adventure with a lot of humour in both the dialogue and the situations. 68,000 words in length, it is the first in a series (a second is currently being planned, in which Ross becomes involved in an international financial scam). Think Alex Ryder with a touch of fantasy! To read the first three chapters, click here.

Eric is currently writing 'Things can only get better', a romantic comedy inspired by 'Pride and Prejudice', 'Casablanca' and 'Much Ado About Nothing' and set in 1997 in the run up to the election campaign. Ben is a twenty something working for a marketing company (no, it is NOT autobiographical, but he had to work somewhere, didn't he?!). He doesn't really get on with people that much, has a mother who wishes he was doing something deeper and a father who is more interested in his budgies than his family. Then he meets Viv, who is sharp tongued and from the opposite side of the political fence, and things start to get more complicated. And all along, he'd really like to engineer a meeting with Princess Di, who he is convinced is his sort of woman.

If you are an agent or a publisher and would like to offer Eric a ridiculously large advance for either of these projects, then please go to the contact page.