|
|
|
|
Stephen Cole was born in 1971 and brought up in rural Bedfordshire where he spent a happy childhood being loud and aspiring to amuse. Having grown up liking books, he went in 1989 to the University of East Anglia to read more of them. After graduating with first class honours in English Literature and Film Studies, he spent four years editing and writing children’s magazines for the BBC, managing a team of twelve. In 1996 he had his first books published by Levinson (now Gullane), a series of four pop-up poetry books for pre-schoolers, and the following year, seeking experience in different media, he took the job of Commissioning Editor, Sci-Fi titles at BBC Worldwide. An intensive learning period ensued during which Cole was responsible for commissioning, budgeting, producing and sometimes scripting the adventures of stalwarts such as Doctor Who on books, video and audio. But it was the phenomenal turnover of the Time Lord’s full-length original novels — two 80,000 word titles per month plus occasional non-fiction tomes — that took most of his time, and which gave the most satisfaction. After leaving the TARDIS for a stint as Creative Editor, Pre-Teen Titles at BBC Children’s Books — which allowed him not only to project manage a raft of TV-tie-in titles but to write several too — Cole moved to Ladybird Books as Managing Editor (Popular Culture). However, realising his passion lay in fiction for older children, he left a year later to go freelance as a writer-editor — authoring books for a host of publishers and properties ranging from Charlie’s Angels to Walking With Dinosaurs, from novelisations of award-winning Disney/TV series Microsoap to perennial favourites such as Thunderbirds and Mr Bean as well as providing original fiction and audio-dramas for Doctor Who and its spin-offs. He was tempted back to full-time employment in 2001 by the fledgling literary list being established at Simon & Schuster, and the chance to work with a number of different authors on the crafting of intelligent, thought-provoking fiction for pre-teens and young adults. During his tenure as Senior Editor — followed by a freelance stint as Consultant Editor — he oversaw the production of more than a dozen UK-originated fiction titles before leaving to go freelance. Since forming his own company, Rocket Editorial Ltd, in 2002, Stephen Cole continues to work as a freelance editor while further developing the writing side of his professional life. The Wereling: Wounded is his first novel for Bloomsbury. It is the first in The Wereling Trilogy. The second book in the series, Prey, is published in May 2004. Watch out for the final book in the trilogy, Resurrection, available November 2004. |