View source for Category:Ritchie Valentine Smith

[[Category:Author|Smith, Ritchie Valentine]]

[[image:Richie_Valentine_Smith.jpg|left]]

Ritchie Valentine Smith was born on Tyneside. Once a social worker, once a poet, once on the BBC ‘New Talent’ programme, once a college lecturer, he is the author of three 90s thrillers, 'Fortune', 'Winning' and 'Risk', and remains of member of the Crime Writers’ Association. In 2003 his play 'Rocket Man' was on at the Pleasance (Edinburgh Fringe) and the Union Theatre, London, where it won a Peter Brook Award for its producers. He wrote and produced 'Kiss' in 2012, showcasing the play at the White Bear in Kennington. He has also worked as a reviewer for [http://www.edinburghguide.com www.edinburghguide.com], covering stand-up comedy and theatre. 

His interest in fantasy and science fiction started when he was a boy, fascinated by other worlds and alternate realities, and his interest in the East was fuelled when he read the masterpiece ‘Shogun’. In 2014 he published the first in his series of fantasy novels 'Words of Power'. For research, the author has travelled extensively, going to the Middle East, especially the Holy Land, to India, and to Japan. 

Ritchie is passionate about writing, reading, theatre, small animals (monkeys, squirrels and parakeets are among his favourites), music and history.