His first novel, Before the Swallow Dares, was published in 2012, when Tony was 79. This was shortly followed by another, The Heat of the Kitchen, then another, the popular Billy’s War. A sequel to Billy’s War, There’s No Pride in Prejudice, was published in 2016.
Since then Tony has continued to publish a novel a year, and shows no sign of stopping yet! An important milestone for Tony was reached in 2017, when the prestigious Times and Sunday Times Cheltenham Literature Festival chose to invite him to talk about and read from his novel A Change of Mind, which had just been published. Two more novels followed: High Time was published in 2018, followed by At Dead of Night in 2019.
Seven novels in seven years is not bad going for any author, but is quite remarkable for one who is as advanced in years as Tony. His health remains pretty good, with only minor problems (it is typical of Tony that he regards two hip replacements, one knee replacement and an operation on his spine as ‘minor problems’).
Tony’s attitude to life is that it is there for living and, in particular, getting old is not an excuse for sitting around doing nothing; one of his favourite quotations comes from the French cellist Paul Tortelier: ‘Everybody should die young – but as late in life as possible’. Now you understand why Tony is still writing!
If you would like to know more about Tony and about his work, check out his website at www.literarylounge.co.uk and follow him on Twitter (@TonyWhelpton1) or like his Facebook page Tony Whelpton Novelist.
Even more importantly, if you have enjoyed reading this book, please take a few minutes to write a review on the Amazon website!
At Dead of Night Page 20
