ABOUT

Stephen Barrett has always had a keen interest in studying the schemes people come up with to defraud and rob others and he has always enjoyed writing and the art of creating worlds with words. Inspiration to combine both came early (reading Len Deighton´s Only when I Larf was the trigger) but first, a career in the conventional sense - as in working in the financial services sector - seemed the sensible thing to do. 

Thirty-five years later, and thanks to the pandemic, forcing a prolonged time working from home, Stephen finally found the time to explore writing his first proper book. In the end, it took almost four years to create his first novel, A Casual Temptation. 

A long time to wait, yes, but in this time, he has been witness to and studied so many true-life events that he has accumulated plenty of input for his next books. All he needs now is to find more time to write…

Stephen was born close to Pevensey Castle in the south of England before the family moved to Germany for twelve years. Returning to England in the early eighties, and settling in sunny Worthing, Stephen completed his schooling and a business degree, after which he embarked on an international career in the financial world. 

Now, he lives in Düsseldorf and spends as much time as possible in Worthing, which is still very much his spiritual home. 

There´s nothing more inspiring than being amidst the hubbub of the commercial centres of Europe, where all these amazing true-life dramas unfold, and then to think of plot ideas whilst walking the dog along sunny Worthing´s fine promenade.