Chosen [Paperback]

.... a promising debut... There were moments in the book that allowed me to lose myself within its pages and this is what first-class fantasy is all about. --www.fantasybookreview.co.uk

An enjoyable first novel - must have been, as I read it in one sitting - with enough grip to keep you turning the page --www.sci-fi-online.com

Chosen is a coming of age tale and fantasy story in one (note: that s fantasy with a small f). Magic books, undead vicars, God and fondue forks are brought together in the story of Alex Preston: a grumpy, daydreaming office worker who finds a tunnel in the basement at work. It leads to a land full of magic and fantasy. Armed with a sleeping bag and a small torch, Alex leaves his family behind and sets off to explore. It s not long before his adventure begins to unravel rather alarmingly and the story builds to an explosive climax. Alex finally discovers the meaning of real magic and learns that when love is stronger than fear, marvellous things can happen.

I m Jerry Ibbotson. I was born in 1969 in London but spent my childhood in various parts of the UK thanks to my dad s job. Would you have guessed that being a weather man would mean so much moving around? I was a BBC radio journalist for nearly ten years, finally ending up reading the news for the likes of John Peel on Radio One. I left the BBC in 2000 to try different things and have been running my own sound production company since then. We do a lot of work in the video games industry which impresses my children a lot. Oh yes, I m married with two kids. Writing has always been in my blood, right from Junior School when I used to come up with mini epics when the other kids were writing a couple of lines about their dog and running off to play in the shop corner. I started writing proper fiction while I was a student but it never went anywhere. That s probably a good thing. With Chosen bouncing around inside my head for years and years I knew I had to do something with all those weird ideas: part ordinary book and part fantasy story. So in 2005 I started with the words, He always hated train journeys at night...