J.M. O'Rourke

I live on the west coast of Ireland, a beautiful location, but as the saying goes, to appreciate home you first must leave it. Which is what I did. I was incredibly restless as a youngster. At 16 I left school without any formal qualifications and spent much of my life in the UK, Europe and America. I’ve worked at a variety of occupations. I don’t know whether to be proud or embarrassed of the fact that I’ve had over 40 jobs in my life, everything from barman to soldier (in the Irish army), potato picker to construction worker and stone mason, newspaper reporter to station foreman with London Underground, and many more in between. I returned to education as a mature student and hold a BA in history and sociology from the National University of Ireland at Maynooth, and an M.Phil from Trinity College, Dublin. Since 2006 I’ve been a civilian employee of the Irish police, An Garda Síochána, a role that offers me a unique insight into police investigative and forensic techniques.

I have been writing all my life. Under my actual name, Michael Scanlon, I’ve had three books published by Bookouture. As J.M. O’Rourke, I am taking a new departure. Just as a song writer might change the tempo of a song, so too can a writer change the tempo of his writing. I believe writing should be an endless exploration of different forms.

I also like to play the guitar and the drums (although I’m not very good at either), hill walking and drinking coffee in my local Costa.

I hope you enjoy the Jack Brody series, and if you do, I would be grateful if you would leave a favourable review. Reviews are like wings, they give books lift, allowing them to (hopefully) soar.