My name is Tony Sherman (Anthony to my family). I have been a writer and creator for most of my professional life. At the age of 8 I had an essay published in a local newspaper. At 10 I had an original painting of a horse exhibited in a Manchester Art Gallery. Once in my teens I became heavily involved in music, performing in numerous bands and writing as many songs as I could.

My first professional writing was as a journalist when I worked first on a local and then a national newspaper. A career in advertising beckoned and I became a copywriter and eventually an editor. Never being an all eggs in one basket kind of bloke I kept up a parallel career as a musician and songwriter. This paid off in the mid 70’s when I gained a rare exclusive publishing contract with the Carlin Music Corporation. Around this time one of the sound studios I regularly worked in began experimenting with video. As a result I found myself writing, producing and directing corporate videos as well as promotional music videos. Eighteen months later I wrote my first full-length screenplay which was produced as a video film: Unfortunately it sank without trace. Since then I have made it my business to learn every aspect of the motion picture industry from holding boom mikes to performing stunts. I have found this knowledge a great advantage when writing. 

Over the years I have acted in several films, worked as a stand-up comic and even appeared on a few occasions as a stage hypnotist: The original “Song and Trance Man”. Even to this day I still enjoy a secondary career as a performer. Having recently completed a collection of poetry I decided to add the verse to my latest performing incarnation as a folk artist thus creating a very interesting, multi-level stage show: When I get the time to perform.

Above all though I am a writer and writing comes first. I have recently completed three novels, two of which have been included in this site. The first is an exciting biblical adventure story set around 1100 B.C. and culminating in the battle between David and Goliath called “CANAAN”. The second is an up-to-the-minute coming of age drama packed with gripping action about a spoiled young debutante called Georgina Mayfield. The title is “TURNING TIDES”.

As a writer my object in life is not to be pigeonholed, which is why Canaan and Turning Tides are completely different in every way. I like to think you CAN please all of the people all of the time.... I hope my work pleases you.

Tony Sherman is a quintessential storyteller with an almost fanatical attention to detail. It is this attention that makes the difference between simply reading one of his stories and actually LIVING it. You’ll be swept away by the realism injected into the narration and the immediate sense of being in situ mixing with all the carefully crafted characters and soaking up the atmosphere as if you were actually a part of the events as they unfold. It makes no difference whether you are back in 11^th century B.C. “CANAAN” or becalmed in the middle of The Atlantic Ocean next week with Georgina Mayfield in “TURNING TIDES”: You’ll be enthralled.The novels couldn’t be more diverse; but there is one constant and that is that you will not be able to put either one down.

http://www.anthonysherman.co.uk/

Canaan is the story of a young man’s adventurous journey over time and distance culminating in his part in one of the most famous biblical confrontations of all time: The battle between David and Goliath.

The story begins 12 years prior to the meeting of David and Goliath. An 18-year-old farmer called Jared from the town of Ashqelon in Canaan, disillusioned with his life, leaves home with the intention of travelling to Greece. His route takes him to Thebes in Egypt where he meets the love of his life, a young Egyptian girl called Nyla. Their happiness is thwarted when Jared is press-ganged into slavery and forced to work at Dayr al-Madinah the site of many of the ancient Egyptian temples. In the months he is there he makes only one friend, a young Egyptian man and fellow slave called Horpais.

Several months later Jared is released into the care of Meketra the right-hand man to High Priest Herihor, the man opposing King Ramesses IX for the leadership of Egypt. Jared is selected because of his knowledge of horses. Herihor’s entire stable has succumbed to a disease, which Jared can cure. He is taken, along with Horpais as his aide, to Herihor’s ranch outside Aswan where, over a period of weeks he cures all the horses. During this time Horpais is being systematically sexually abused by Herihor’s sadistic vet Paser. Jared finds out too late and Horpais commits suicide. Before he can exact revenge Jared is forced to accompany Herihor and his army to Tannis, where the priest plans to attack Ramesses. This attack is thwarted, but Jared is separated from Herihor and becomes a prisoner of war. Herihor and Ramesses tactfully agree to divide Egypt and Herihor returns to Thebes. Jared meanwhile has been sold into the Greek slave trade as a galley slave on a trading boat.

As it nears Greece pirates attack the boat. Jared manages to dive overboard and is washed ashore on the island of Milos in The Cyclades. He meets an old farmer there who helps him get on a boat to Athens. Once there he gets work on a farm in Attica where he learns to speak Greek.

After several months on the farm Jared decides it is time to leave and travels back to Athens where he becomes involved in an underground movement to free slaves, which is run by an innkeeper called Lynceus, his wife Cliantha and their daughter Alethea. The movement is based in a village called Nikea, which is the halfway house for escaped slaves on their way to freedom in The Cyclades. Whilst working together in the freedom group Jared and Alethea fall in love and marry. They buy a farm to grow olives and breed horses.

For the next nine years Jared and Alethea work together to build a life. They now have a 7-year-old boy called Petros. Everything is perfect until one day when Jared is in the north of Greece on business. There is a massive earthquake, which kills Alethea Petros, Lynceus and Cliantha. It is around this time that Jared hears the news of the troubles in Canaan between the Canaanites and the Philistines. With nothing to keep him he realises that he must return to Canaan. He travels back a much wiser man.

It is now 1083 B.C. Once back in Ashqelon and eventually accepted into his family he improves the farm by introducing the Greek invention of water control by river deflection and drainage, which is unheard of in Canaan. As a result he becomes somewhat of a local hero and comes to the attention of King Saul. Jared then sets about starting a new herd of horses. Whilst doing this he befriends the giant Philistine general, Goliath and also becomes romantically involved with Goliath’s sister Aryanna. Although the factions are coexisting, there is much tension between the Canaanites and Philistines. Around this time Jared crosses paths with Elias of Hebron, the local Judge (priest/ruler). He is a powerful man who is jealous of Jared’s entrepreneurial skills.

It is at this stage that David enters the story. He is violent young man, regularly brawling and always looking for trouble. He is also a musician, particularly noted as a lyre player. In the interests of détente, Saul has organised a concert by Egyptian High Priest Herihor’s noted orchestra. The concert is a ruse to hide the two leader’s secret political talks. Saul entrusts the organising of a Canaanite orchestra to David, who has strong political ambitions.

At this point Nyla re-enters the story. As an accomplished harpist, she has travelled to Canaan with the Egyptian orchestra. Jared attends the concert and is reunited with Nyla. He receives a further shock when he meets the daughter he did not know he had. Her name is Karoma and she is 12-years-old: Just prior to this David has attacked Goliath in a tavern and accidentally killed Aryanna. Goliath now wants justice, but Saul refuses to hand David over. The simmering tension between Canaanite and Philistine now begins to come to a boil.

When the Egyptian delegation leaves, Nyla and Karoma stay with Jared. He takes them to meet his family who, unexpectedly show prejudice and shun the Egyptians. Meanwhile the crisis between the Canaanites and the Philistines has gone beyond the point of no return. In a last ditch effort to avert a war Saul sends a reluctant Jared to meet with his friend Goliath. Whilst this is happening, back in Ashqelon Elias tries to buy Jared’s farm. When Nyla refuses to sell he tries to have her killed. Malachi comes to her aid and then goes after Elias who is eventually killed by a rioting mob of oppressed locals.

Jared has met with Goliath but cannot dissuade the Philistine and is forced to take sides. He slips an herbal sedative into Goliath’s wine, which he knows the soldier will be carrying with him the next day when he goes to meet David. The sedative makes what would have been an impossible task an easy one for David, who kills Goliath with a stone from his slingshot. A fierce battle ensues and the Philistines are driven out of Canaan.

Life in Ashqelon returns to normality. Nyla and Karoma have now been accepted into Malachi’s extended family and Jared begins to build a new life for his wife and child. The story ends when Jared finds out that his stallion and mare have successfully mated heralding the beginning of a new herd. Even better is the news that Nyla is pregnant with their second child.

N.B.

The story also contains an underlying current of morality as Jared, after losing his faith due to his misadventures, desperately tries to regain his belief and rediscover God.

TURNING TIDES 

Twenty-year-old Georgina Mayfield is your quintessential “spoilt brat”. Her parents are rich and she is beautiful on the outside. Inside this only child is totally self-centered, intolerant, spiteful and hateful. Her father Peter is a workaholic; basically a good man but his work as a property developer definitely comes before all else. His wife Celia has come to terms with his attitude to work and overcompensates for his absence by giving herself plenty to do. She does a great deal for charity and when not doing that she enjoys spending as much time as possible at the gym or with friends. As a result of this Georgina has felt over the years that she has been neglected. In truth her parents love her but have never understood the concept of quality time with the demanding Georgina.

In an attempt at a family holiday Peter Mayfield cajoles his wife and daughter to accompany him to Cornwall where he is in the middle of a huge business deal in St. Ives. Once in Cornwall the business takes over Peter’s existence and, as usual, Celia and Georgina are left to fend for themselves, which they do separately.

Georgina decides to punish her parents by going off the rails in the seaside town. She meets up with some friends who are coincidentally in Cornwall and uses them as she mocks and alienates the locals. One night she is attacked and almost raped by a disgruntled young man who unsuccessfully tried to pick her up. She is rescued by a local DJ. The next day she cajoles a 72-year-old old fisherman called Cedric “Doxy” Murdoch into taking her for a private boat trip for the day. The fishing is poor and he needs the money so he reluctantly agrees.

Staying at Georgina’s hotel is a family called the Pickfords comprising an elderly couple and their retarded 42-year-old mute son Stevie who is a gentle giant of 6’ 5” with the mind of a 10-year-old. He takes a shine to Georgina and follows her to the boat. Doxy’s mate refuses to go out with him after spending all night fishing unsuccessfully and so Doxy agrees to take Stevie with to help.

They sail out in Doxy’s fishing boat called the Euna and into a totally unexpected flash storm which severely injures Doxy, blows the boat miles off course and breaks the engine completely marooning them in the open Atlantic. Georgina wakes to find that not only is Doxy completely incapacitated but Stevie is in the dinghy that was being towed by the boat and won’t move. She also has the further complication of a dolphin that has become entangled in the boats’ fishing nets.

From here on Georgina must care for Doxy, Stevie and the dolphin. At first she finds things impossible but gradually goes through a complete metamorphosis as she struggles to keep the two men and the dolphin alive through a series of catastrophic storms with no food and little water.

To add to the considerable load Georgina witnesses drugs being dropped from a plane and picked up by boat. The drug dealer, a ruthless Russian immigrant called Gregor then boards the Euna to silence all aboard but is driven away by Stevie. He returns to St Ives and elicits the help of one of his biggest clients Davy Perrow who, coincidentally, is the man who tried to rape Georgina. They return to the Euna fully armed but before they can attack they become caught up in the biggest of the storms to hit the area. Gregor's boat is sunk; Gregor cannot be found and Georgina is forced to rescue Davy from drowning and bring him onto the Euna.

She then sets about getting Stevie back to the boat: He is now adrift in the dinghy. She swims to the dinghy and is attacked by Gregor who hasn’t drowned, but is saved by Stevie. This time the Russian does drown and Georgina swims back to the Euna with Stevie.

Throughout all this time Peter and Celia Mayfield and the Pickfords have been doing everything possible to find the missing boat. The Mayfields have now been joined by Georgina’s boyfriend Jason who travelled down to Cornwall with their housekeeper Joan to help. The coastguard has been informed and there is a massive but fruitless search going on. A local radio station takes up the story with DJ Johnny Tre talking to Georgina and the others though his program on the radio and dedicating records to them. As it later transpires Johnny is the man who saved Georgina from being raped. Georgina actually hears the broadcasts which help. At this stage Peter decides to take matters into his own hands and he and Jason hire a boat from a local who takes them out to join the search. That boat too is sunk in another huge storm but eventually Peter, Jason and the owner are rescued.

Time is now running out for Georgina and the others, as an even bigger storm front approaches but Peter finds another boat and once again goes in search of his daughter. Meanwhile the Euna has drifted into a busy shipping lane and once again all aboard are in grave danger. This time however Peter does find them in the nick of time. They are all then rescued and taken back to St. Ives on the coastguard boat.

Turning Tides is predominantly about the “coming of age” of a spoilt young woman, Georgina Mayfield. However many of the other characters also undergo incredible attitude changes as a result of one small fishing boat being lost at sea for three days.