Simon Higgins

Simon Higgins (born 1958) is an English born Australian author of novels for children and young adults who turned to writing in 1998 after a successful career in law enforcement, serving as a police officer and state prosecutor before also working as a private investigator, all in South Australia.

His published works include adventure stories with science fiction elements, such as the bestseller "Thunderfish" and its sequels "Under No Flag" and "In the Jaws of the Sea" (Random House, Sydney) in which issues such as modern piracy, illegal whaling, and the collapse of the ocean's food chain serve as backdrops to harrowing rescues and submarine warfare.

Higgins has also written gritty crime thrillers such as "Doctor Id", "Cybercage", and "The Stalking Zone" featuring unwilling psychic detective Jade Draper, (also Random House Australia) and the futuristic survival drama "Beyond the Shaking Time" (Hodder Headline Australia).

"Doctor Id" and "Thunderfish" were each recognized as a Notable Book of the Year by the Children's Book Council of Australia, and have been performed on stage or converted into audio books. Many novels by Higgins are studied as High School English texts by Australian students, and his suspense tales have also been published in Italy (Mondadori Books) and Japan (serialized and illustrated in Asahi Shimbun Magazine). The writer's hobbies include shipwreck diving and the martial art Iaido, in which he has competed at international level. Influences in his work reflect his travels in a number of Asian countries. He is a popular public speaker and teacher of creative writing to students of many age groups.

In September 2007 book one of Higgins' first Asian trilogy was published. Set in medieval Japan's civil war era, "Tomodachi: The Edge of the World" (Pulp Fiction Press, Brisbane) is a historical thriller in which the son of an English lord, shipwrecked in feudal Japan in 1543, is befriended by a runaway samurai youth.

In April-May 2008 Higgins returned to Japan to train and compete in the World Iaido Contest (Taikai) held annually before a royal patron on a mountain top near Kyoto. He placed 5th in the 'Dangai' category. While in Japan, Higgins also visited sites of historical significance to 'shinobi' or 'ninja' culture, researching his next series.

In August 2008 "Moonshadow: Eye of the Beast "(Random House, Sydney) was published, an action fantasy following the adventures of a boy spy in Tokugawa Era Japan.

External Links

* [http://www.houseoflegends.com.au/Author-Detail.aspx?Author=Higgins,%20Simon Simon Higgins at House of Legends]
* [http://www.randomhouse.com.au/Authors/Default.aspx?Page=Author&ID=Higgins,%20Simon Simon Higgins at Random House Australia]