Bermuda-based author Simon J Parkinson may not be a household name quite yet, but after winning an international literary award he’s earned a place in the global spotlight.

Mr Parkinson’s science fiction novel ‘Predation’ was recently named the winner of the October 2013 Kindle Book Award, after competing with 64 titles over the month and attracting more than 1,000 votes.

Several other best sellers were also in the running for the award, including JK Rowling’s ‘The Casual Vacancy’, and works from a host of talented up and coming authors.

Mr Parkinson said he has received countless calls from journalists from the UK looking to interview him since the win.

“It’s been exciting to take part in this competition and experience first-hand the loyalty and dedication of my readers worldwide,” he said. “To win against such strong competition is the icing on the cake.”

Mr Parkinson, who currently works as an IT Network and Systems Administrator at BIOS in St George’s, recently sat down with The Royal Gazette to tell us about his passion for writing and budding career.

He said he was always interested in creating stories as a youngster, but never imagined he would have the time to finish a book.

That all changed one day after he heard author Bernard Cornwell suggest that novice writers start by typing just a page a day. The idea being that by the end of a year you would have written an entire book.

“When I heard that it put everything in perspective for me and I realised I could do it,” Mr Parkinson said.

“I forced myself to write a page every day, no matter what my other commitments were or where I was.

“Now it has become a habit and usually I write four to eight pages a day. I think on my best day I wrote 17 pages.”

His most recent work has been a 1,200 page trilogy, the latest of which is titled ‘The Legionnaire: Vendetta of Shadows’.

The series starts off following French Foreign Legion Sergent Étienne Martin in Algeria, as he discovers millions of Euros have been taken from fort accounts for personal gain.

After learning how widespread the conspiracy is, Sgt Martin goes on the run to America — and adopts a new name, Stephen Anderson.

“He tricks the Legion into thinking he’s a dead man,” the author explained. “He is on the run from these criminals because he has evidence against them, so it’s him trying to protect his identity, while also trying to protect those people he cares about.”

After writing the first and second part of the series, Mr Parkinson said fans were still keen to find out what happened to the character.

‘The Legionnaire: Vendetta of Shadows’ is the final part of the tale.

Born in the UK, Mr Parkinson moved to Canada at age seven and later joined the Canadian Air Force with hopes of seeing the world.

Many of the places he writes about he’s visited on his travels; other places he has researched extensively to make the story more authentic.

He also got help from a man who served as a Legionnaire for five years, so he could flesh out the character a bit more.

‘The most difficult part of writing the series was making sure everything was portrayed accurately because as a reader myself I remember books where someone writes about a character using a Revolver and then later talks about them changing the clip in the gun.

“A Revolver doesn’t have a clip, so in your mind you can’t believe what you are reading.

“Even though I write fiction, I try and make it as accurate as possible. That’s where the hours of research I do ahead of time comes in handy.”

Mr Parkinson, who goes by the pen name S J Parkinson, has written four books and is currently working on two others. One of his biggest fans is his wife, Joanne Levon, who is always first to buy his books when they come out.

For him the biggest reward comes when he gets to see the books out in print.

“That is absolutely the best feeling,” he explained. “I have a stack of books on my desk at home and when I am watching TV sometimes I look over and see it and it’s incredible feeling to know I have done this and they’re good and people like them.”

Although he doesn’t write for critical acclaim or money, he hopes to eventually earn enough to make writing a full-time career.

His books are currently available online at www.amazon.com.

For more information about the author, visit his official website: www.sjparkinson.com