Richard John Thornton

Hello and thank you so much for finding me.

My name is Richard John Thornton.

My interest in writing has always been stirring within since being a teenager, but there seemed to be such little scope to pursue it at school.

English lessons were all about studying the ‘Classics’ in readiness for exam time.

So effectively, my creative spur was on hold for the best part of thirty years.

It was in 2003 that I decided to sign up to a home study creative writing course.

I also began writing articles for varying magazines and I also commenced work on my first ever novel.

‘The Last All-Rounder depicts mid-1980s culture and the dreams of a twelve-year-old schoolboy who wishes to emulate his hero, Ian Botham, and join the school cricket team. Containing humour, social overtones and romance in the quest for ultimate triumph, I remain very proud of the book and the messages it carries. I will be publishing ‘The Last All-Rounder’ later this year.

And then once I’d accomplished the first novel, the ideas just flowed.

Between 2005 and 2011 I completed 8 novels, 4 non-fiction humour books, and 3 biographies aside from the many magazine articles.

However, despite my love of the craft, my intensive enthusiasm to find a publisher regularly hit a brick wall.

A conversation at my youngest daughter’s wedding led me to discover Amazon Publishing.

Suddenly doors were potentially open for my books to gain wings.

My zest to breathe new life into old novels was all consuming, and that is the process in which I am currently engaged.

It started with the release of ‘Deliver Us From Evil’ in November 2021

This year, ‘At Hell’s Gate’ , ‘The Swans at Clearlake’ and ‘Within These Walls’ have also been published.

More will be ready to go ‘live’ on Amazon over the course of the year.

By the way, ‘Hetty Publications’ deserves a moment of explanation.

Hetty was the first name of my late maternal grandmother. She was an inspiration to me throughout my life and I thought that she fully deserved to be part of the journey.

I hope you have enjoyed your first foray into my work, dear reader.

There are plenty more books on the way so please re-visit soon.

I hope you feel stimulated enough now to want to take a look at my work.

I thank you for your time, attention and support.

RJT x