At one time in my life, not that long ago, there was an enormous black cloud that I lived in the middle of. I had just been medical diagnosed as being traumatised and suffering from anxiety as a result of a Road Traffic Accident. I had lost all confidence and any sense of security in being able to cope with life. I was frightened to leave the safety of my own home and I can assure you, that up to that point, I had lived anything but a sheltered existence.
I snapped at the least provocation. I ‘jumped-out-of-my-skin’ at any unexpected noise and I knew that I was useless to my nearest and dearest. But perhaps worse than all of those things I was distinctly uncomfortable in any company, whether known to me or not. I had lost the ability to engage in conversation. I didn’t want, nor knew how, to express how that state of depression was affecting me. Because of that, few tried to engage with me. I received expert medical care, under-going a treatment called EMDR….Eye Movement Desensitization Routine and eventual, after three and a bit years, I recovered. I began to slowly accept the fact that, contrary to my belief, I was vulnerable just like everyone else. I had previously thought that I was impregnable, strong, a self-entity. The very epitome of that island that John Donne made reference to.
In one way or another we cocoon ourselves behind what we call conformity. We shun what we don’t understand instead of embracing the whole of life, in it’s best manifestations and its worse. We don’t welcome those that are different to our own measurement of behaviour and convention. The hackneyed expression…’There but for the grace of God go I’… has lost its relevance in today’s society. It should not be quoted in celebration of the fact that we are normal. It should be used by those that recognise that not all should be measured against the stilted perception of conventional.
About Daniel Kemp
At the age of seventy-six, Daniel Kemp has started his second year of studying the science of Psychology at the Open University. He is a member of The Society of Authors and also a bestselling writer. However, in early September 2025, he was diagnosed with cancer. He is now in palliative care at home, being looked after by his ex-wife. When he was writing his novels, he enjoyed writing stories that appealed to those who liked challenging themselves to solve mysteries that were set out before their eyes, but they couldn't.
His introduction to the world of espionage and mystery happened at an early age when his father was employed by the War Office in Whitehall, London, at the end of WWII. However, it wasn’t until after his father died that he showed any interest in anything other than himself!
On leaving academia he took on many roles in his working life: a London police officer, mini-cab business owner, pub tenant and licensed London taxi driver, but never did he plan to become a writer. Nevertheless, after a road traffic incident left him suffering from PTSD and effectively—out of paid work for four years, he wrote and self-published his first novel —The Desolate Garden.
Within three months of publication, that book was under a paid option to become a $30 million film. The option lasted for six years until distribution became an insurmountable problem for the production company.
All ten of his novels are now published by Next Chapter Publishing Company which has added an edition titled The Heirs And Descendants Collection, which holds all four books of that series, alongside an edition titled The Lies And Consequences Collection which contains all four volumes of that series.
He is the recipient of rave reviews from a prestigious Manhattan publication and described as—the new Graham Green—by a highly placed executive of Waterstones Books, for whom he did a countrywide tour of book signing events. He has also appeared on 'live' television in the UK publicising his first novel.
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Daniel Kemp 