Welcome to my little piece of the internet, make yourselves at home. There’s always coffee (hope you don’t mind instant as I’m not much of a coffee connoisseur, sorry).
I’m Darren M. Marshall and I like to write science fiction using the name D. M. Marshall (other forms of writing will go under different variations of my name to try and keep things simple for you guys).
I was born in 70’s UK and due to a slow-to-be-detected hearing issue (glue ear, that continues to this day but is now managed by popping my ears [why didn’t the doctors tell me this worked before giving me numerous ear operations?]) I was late to start walking (2), talking (3) and reading (5). I remember being petrified of going to school because I was very shy but also because I didn’t know how to read. Luckily for me the school I went to had some fantastic story books and I remember learning to read in about a week. By the end of that week I’d brought home with me half a dozen books and that was that. I have been addicted to fiction ever since, with a preference in particular for science fiction.
Since then I’ve lived one day at a time, and like all people fortunate enough to do so for any particular amount of time I’ve done a fair number of things. Like surviving my school life (as the fattest kid at some pretty rough schools I was subject to daily bullying and regular beatings – luckily for me I had a wonderful cat, Kitty (I know!), who would comfort me each night and if it hadn’t have been for her my attempts to do myself in would have been much more concerted), like going to university, developing a life-long passion for the gym (which, along with Kitty, I believe has saved my life), working in IT for more years than I care to remember, being a Science Teacher, a 3D modeller, a factory worker, a TV extra, a barman, a door-to-door kitchen goods seller, a keen gardener, and more. Getting to your 40’s means that when you look back you are blessed with hopefully feeling that you’ve kept yourself pretty busy.
Over those years I have always been a passionate reader, finding time to read thousands of books over the years (some many times over) despite my many other hobbies and interests. There’s nothing better than settling down to read a novel from one of your favourite authors at the end of a long day. For me it’s the perfect escape from the realities of normal life. I had written often throughout my life, but they were either short stories, a diet book (that was nearly published) and many started-but-never-finished stories. Only when I tried to be a plotter, rather than a pantser did I finally finish a full length novel – The Rise of The Dominion. I am immensely proud to have written it and I very much enjoy receiving feedback – please do let me know what you think of the book. Since then I’ve written the follow up to The Rise of The Dominion: The Portal which continues on the war raging across the galaxy and features a new and rather grumpy old Edo called Cail Vita. Again I’m very happy with how the novel came out and how the highly complex story continues to evolve. I hope to begin writing the third in the series soon.
Feel free to get in touch and let me know what you think.