John’s writing is a semi-autobiographical mix of dirty realism, crime fiction and noir. Ghostly references to a heritage that includes the Vikings, Scotland, Ireland and the North of England flavour the words throughout, often with a dark but humoured edge. His short stories have been published on Bristol Noir, Dead Mans Tome and and have been shortlisted for the Storgy Flash Fiction prize. ‘Untethered’, his first book in the Black Viking P.I. series, is out now with Bristol Noir. He grew up on the coast in rural Northumberland, a region steeped with a history of battles, Vikings, wars and struggles. These tales and myths fascinated him as a child, and then as an adult. In the mid to late nineties he studied in Salford enjoying the bands, music, clubs and general urban industrial-ness of Greater Manchester, including the club scene and the infamous Hacienda. He was also there when the IRA bomb went off in 1996. Although inspired partly by 50s pulp hard-boiled detective fiction and the beat generation authors and poets, John aims to celebrate his female characters from his real life through his writing, whilst retaining the hard drinking, cynical honesty and accessible writing style of these genres. John now lives in Bristol with his wife and daughter, where he has been since the late nineties. He is a professional designer, artist and writer as well as a proud husband, father, brother and son. Reviews: 'Set in 1998 in Bristol, England, Bowie’s dark, hard-edged crime novel inaugurates a promising series.’ – Publishers Weekly ‘Noir fans will find a lot to like.’ – BookLife ‘John Bowie’s ’90s set Untethered is a violent and intense read. Lyrical, moody, funny and as gritty as hell, Untethered is like a British blend of Jim Thompson and Nelson Algren.’ – Paul D. Brazill, author of Guns of Brixton ‘I would definitely recommend this crime novel and John Bowie as an author, and look forward to reading his next book.’ – Amanda Brightman, STORGY Publishers Weekly’s full review of Untethered: https://tinyurl.com/y7dsgec7 STORGY'S full review of Untethered: https://tinyurl.com/y3ovqsc5