About the author

I am Roland O’Leary, I live in London (UK) with my family. I’m a lifelong incorrigible reader turned author.

I love being recommended a good book (or better a good series of books) – this site is my attempt to help other readers find books they’ll love.

I have a first class degree in English and have worked in the past as a reviewer and marketing copywriter. But what I really love is writing fiction.

I’m the author of The Hand of Fire, the first novel in an epic fantasy series called The Essence of Tyranny.

When I’m not working, writing or parenting, I’m a keen rock climber with ascents up to 7c/5.12d. My love of the outdoors inspires me with locations to try to capture in my writing. I have a background in traditional and mixed martial arts, which influences my approach to writing action scenes. And means I won’t write about heroes who master the art of fighting in a few short months – I know from painful experience that this doesn’t happen in real life. Or at least, not to me.