Graham Downs

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]

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

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. "Author Interview—Graham Downs". Books, Blogs, and Bits. 6 January 2014. Archived from the original on 15 July 2014. Retrieved 27 June 2014.
  3. Graham, Chris (23 October 2013). "Guest Author Graham Downs". Chris the Story Reading Ape's Blog. Retrieved 27 June 2014.
  4. 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.
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