James Watson

James Watson is a prize-winning author of novels for Young Adults. They have been called political thrillers. Among these are THE FREEDOM TREE, set in the Spanish Civil War and TALKING IN WHISPERS, set in Chile at the time of the Generals. Whispers won The Other Award, was Highly Commended in the Carnegie Awards and was a winner of the German literary prize, the Buxtehuder Bulle award for teen fiction.

Later novels by the author are NO SURRENDER, WHERE NOBODY SEES, TICKET TO PRAGUE (these published in German) and JUSTICE OF THE DAGGER.This was a Waterstone's Book of the Month. His latest novel, set in Ukraine, is about the uneven playing fields of women's soccer in a context in which human rights are under threat. FAIR GAME: THE STEPS OF ODESSA follows the perilous days of a young, ambitious and talented footballer, Natasha. Her father is an investigative journalist. He has uncovered corruption at the highest level of Ukraine's government. Publication of his findings puts his own life and the lives of his family at risk as well as threatening Natasha's future as an international player.

James has just completed a history novel set in medieval Florence, BESIEGED: THE COILS OF THE VIPER about an artist and his young apprentice. They aim to complete a major fresco despite the imminent attack on the city by the mercenary troops of Gian Galeazzo Visconti, Duke of Milan, called The Viper.

The following are available on Amazon Kindle: The Freedom Tree, Talking in Whispers, Ticket to Prague and Justice of the Dagger.

The author lives in Kent, England. He has also written plays for radio and a number of academic books on media. James says, 'My books pitch readers into the eye of the storm. Their locations are international - Spain, Chile, Angola, Czechoslovakia, East Timor and Ukraine; my hope that young readers will empathise with the human rights issues in countries other than their own.'