The Writers of Wales Database

THOMAS, MIKE

Contact via his agent Curtis Brown at: http://www.curtisbrown.co.uk/

Born in 1971, Mike is a serving police officer and freelance writer. He is currently working towards his Masters in Writing at the University of Glamorgan, under the auspices of poet and novelist Sheenagh Pugh. Mike has published short stories, regional news pieces, travel articles (covering his beloved Portugal) and is a Rhys Davies prize winner. He lives with his wife and two children in Wales. Pocket Notebook, his debut novel, was published by William Heinemann (Random House) in December 2009. It was named one of the nine ‘Hot Books’ to watch out for at the 2009 London Book Fair and was on the 2010 Wales Book of the Year Long List. Mike is currently working on his second novel. He is a Member of Academi.

Photograph copyrighted to Richard Tidy

Reviews:

"…Pocket Notebook stuns like a truncheon, grips like a pair of handcuffs, crackles with charge like a taser. Reading it is like being caught up in a riot: exhilarating, terrifying, and swept along by an unstoppable momentum. Either Mike Thomas has a fascinatingly jaundiced view of the Thin Blue Line, or we're all in big, big trouble…"
Niall Griffiths, author of Runt


Selected Publications:
Pocket Notebook (William Heinemann, 2009)

Contributed to:
Eagle in the Maze (contributor) (Cinnamon Press, 2008)



Pocket Notebook (William Heinemann, 2009)

Meet Jacob Smith. Your good-old British policeman. The sort revered around the world. But Jacob's no ordinary 'tit-wearing' beat bobby.

He's a tactical firearms officer - a handsome, popular, financially secure specialist, no less. He's also married, with two children; a connoisseur of fine cinema, who also enjoys the occasional hit from his expansive collection of do-it-yourself 'art' DVDs (the latest of which was 'borrowed' from a flat during a drugs warrant); an amateur historian, with a keen interest in the Vietnam War. And he does like to keep himself in shape, hence the rather large steroid habit - and the even larger amount of money he owes to his dealer. And did we mention he's partial to women's feet? That the local shoe shop is his lap-dance palace? And the girlfriend, his little Christmas treat to himself, who's desperately trying to shrug him off now it's the New Year? Or what about his parents - do we really need to go there? And now his family and friends are starting to worry about our Jake …and his police superiors are increasingly taking notice of the way he conducts himself. As you can see, Jake's a very busy boy. And his life is about to get a lot more complicated…

Pocket Notebook is the debut novel from serving police officer Mike Thomas. An angry black comedy, it follows Jacob's very public breakdown and subsequent fall from grace, all of which he meticulously records in his police notebook.

To purchase this title from amazon.co.uk, please click on its front cover