Former LJMU student publishes book

Ex-LJMU student Sean’s double dose of thrills

By Evan Barton

An ex LJMU journalism student has published his second novel in a series of thrillers.

Sean F Campbell, whose succesful first book entitled ‘Judge’, tells the story of a Merseyside based man stuck ‘in a dark abyss of loss and depression.. With nothing left to live for, he embarks on a quest of retribution to ensure those responsible face judgement.” The gritty revenge thriller was met with a stream of positive reviews from several readers describing it as “ gripping, “ enthralling” and “ an absolute page turner.” Campells debut left readers eagerly awaiting his next novel and in November were given just that.

His new book ‘Defying Humdrum’ tells the story of George Harris, a man with big dreams and ambitions struggling with his relationships and career. George seeks something more in his existence than simply just being alive. He stumbles across a small village that changes his perceptions entirely, however he soon discovers a grim reallity that everything isn’t as it seems.

Sean told MNL: “Defying Humdrum is also a thriller but touches on the supernatural and even adds in a slight dash of horror. The story follows a degree of sacrifice he is willing to make in order to live a life he thought he lost.”

Sean’s novels arent just everyday thrillers, they each contain a different theme, something he wishes to further in his future novels.

When asked what we can expect from him in the future he told me “ I have a couple of ideas in my hard drive at various degrees of completion. There is a sci-fi novel in the works at present as well as a horror which I intend to work on after that. As you may gather, my books so far are different genres and that’s because I’m inspired by a lot of different things. Eventually, I may settle on one but that would depend on what proves to be the most popular and what I feel I am best at.” As Sean’s novels have been so well recieved, i wanted to find out what inspired a student to make his venture into the writing world. He told me “ I’ve always had a creative side and always enjoyed writing. Some people are good at art, maths, sports etc but for me, creative writing has always come naturally. Teachers as far back

I have an active mind, a strong sense of creativity. ‘ ’

as primary school used to say ‘he should write a book one day’ and my family always encouraged me to do so.

“I’m a great aficionado of ‘what if’ scenarios. I look back at historical events and wonder how alternative outcomes would have shaped our future, I watch films and imagine entirely different outcomes.

“I guess an active mind, a strong sense of creativity and, of course, my Mum’s encouragement finally made me realise that it would be criminal if I didn’t get something written one day.”

When asked how his time at John Moores shaped his career, he said “Definitely! Though I haven’t followed journalism as a career, my degree turbo-charged my creativity. There were so many different scenarios we had to write for but I always preferred the informal ones where I could spread my wings and have some fun with my words but at the same time, the more formal work gave me a strong discipline which I still adhere to today.”

Sean’s eagerly anticipated second novel and his highly rated debut are available on Amazon in paperback and on Kindle. His next venture, wether it may be science fiction or a new theme is leaving readers anxious for more.

Sean F Campbell with his new novel ‘Defying Humdrum’