Often when I am asked about my new novel, ‘The Headmaster’s Wager’, I am asked about my memories of my late grandfather. This does not surprise me. After all, I have written a book in which the protagonist, Percival Chen, shares many characteristics with my grandfather. Percival is the headmaster of an English school in wartime Vietnam, as was my grandfather. Percival lives most of his adult life in Vietnam but is ethnically Chinese, and this is crucial to his sense of identity. In addition to being a successful educator and entrepreneur, he is a gambler, drinker, and womanizer. All of these qualities in Percival are inspired by my grandfather. I choose that word carefully – inspired. The book is a work of fiction, and is not ‘based upon’ my grandfather’s life. It does not memorialize him or recount his actions or memories. Instead, it picks up on a thread of his life, and an era he experienced.

Rosalie-Marylin 'Rose-Mary' Bloomwood is a small town country girl who would rather spend her days working on the farm then daydreaming about silly things like love. In her eyes relationships never lasted and love was just a myth. She doesn't care if the person was hot or not, love was out of the question because of an incident that happened many years before. When a young man, Eric Parker, stumbles onto her farm with amnesia, she struggles to get to know the man, who doesn't remember where he came from or who he was before coming to the farm. Boys, gangs, amnesia and chicken chases are just a few of the things Rose-Mary with encounter as she tries to come to terms with love and all the obstacles that surround it. But one thing Rose doesn't know is that Eric has two big secrets he could never let her know. The fear of losing her or having her hate him would be too much for Eric.