John Christopher
Author
I am a qualified History teacher with degrees in History and Sociology, which I obtained at the University of Newcastle. I specialised in Medieval Europe where I completed a thesis and numerous papers on Medieval Society. I have an extensive knowledge of Europe, having travelled there on many occasions. I have family connections throughout Europe a....
more
I am a qualified History teacher with degrees in History and Sociology, which I obtained at the University of Newcastle. I specialised in Medieval Europe where I completed a thesis and numerous papers on Medieval Society. I have an extensive knowledge of Europe, having travelled there on many occasions. I have family connections throughout Europe and am fluent in Italian as both my parents were born in Istria in northern of Italy and settled in Australia in 1950. Studying Medieval History and the research that accompanied it, opened up a whole world of fascinating subjects which I used to create Astrum Divinus. Deep knowledge of events and historical figures enhanced my ability to weave a fictional piece with historical facts which, in my view, added a sense of reality to what is ultimately a fantastic tale. As a young child I loved to read comic books, particularly those with heroes and fantastic adventures. This love of literature was not, however, confined to comic books. My first "real" book was 'King Solomon's Mines' which was quickly followed by the historical and graphic 'Maneaters of Kumaon'. At eight years of age I read these two books and fell in love with literature. My passion was science and history and when asked by my teachers to write compositions, I found myself creating fantasy world's and characters that earned me praise and a great sense of satisfaction. As often happens, work, family and other obligations became my priorities and after a long career as a police officer, I found time to indulge in the passion that slept deep inside me for some forty years. After completing a History degree with Honours I decided to revive my "composition" skills and set down to write this story. I live with my beautiful wife and two sons in a picturesque rural setting in the Hunter Valley, Australia.