Hi, I’m Michael Gouda and I was born in London, England at the start of WW2.
In my mid thirties after a disgracefully enjoyable time in the gay pubs and clubs of London I decided to take life more seriously, went to University, obtained a respectable degree and took up teaching in the Worcestershire town of Evesham.
I took early retirement to a limestone cottage in the Cotswold hills where I lived with a series of neurotic collie dogs, a domineering cat and a determination to write. Since then I have written over one hundred and fifty short stories and published longer works with Dreamspinner Press and M.L.R. Press.
I like to introduce incidents from my own deplorable past into my stories of crime and misadventure. Being a romantic at heart though I never allow a tragic ending, however downbeat may be the indications in between.
My story ‘To the Ends of the Earth’ is about friendship and love, mystery and betrayal. The narrator, Johnny, fears for his life after two attempts are made to kill him. Whom to trust? He does not know and hopefully , as the story is told from his point of view, you will wonder also.
Occasionally in my writing I include events that have actually happened to me, the incident in ‘To the Ends of the Earth’ that took place in the grounds of Alexandra Palace was real, though I’m not sure I behaved then with such presence of mind, but my friend of the time did escape any harm, and we never told our parents, knowing something was wrong but not sure exactly what.
My inspiration for writing can come from anywhere. I have actually written 186 short and novel length stories and obviously they must range over a wide area. I have written stories set in Ancient Greece, Ancient Egypt, Rome, (which obviously needed a considerable amount of research which I enjoyed.), occasional science fiction (though I’m not really a fan). There is one set in Shakespeare’s time where he ‘meets up’ with his fellow dramatist Christopher (Kit) Marlowe who was murdered in a bar room brawl, though there are conspiracy theories about that – and I give an entirely fictional account as to whom the mysterious ‘WH’ was, whom Shakespeare dedicated his sonnets to.
There is also a gay sendup of the legendary King Arthur – ‘Gay Knights and Horny Heroes.’.
Most of my stories, though, are contemporary, like ‘To the ends of the Earth’, and practically anything I hear on the news, see on the TV, remember from my past (for example the flood of 2007 inspired a longish novel about a writer and his friends and their adventures). I like reading thrillers or police procedurals and many of my stories are in similar vein (like ‘Crook’ and ‘Crimes of Passion’).
I have also written a full length novel about WW2 based on my own experiences as a very young child, my researches, and my father’s stories. He was an ARP warden during the war, not being called up as his work was a reserved occupation.
Excerpt from early life: Johnny and Jacob
We were, I remember playing ‘Tag’ or some such game which involved running through and hiding amongst a thick clump of bushes, when we were approached by a man. He might well have been quite young, but to us he was incredibly ancient, you know, about our parents’ age. Yes we had our full share of parents at that time who stayed together in spite of, or probably, because of ‘the children’.
This man, as I was saying, approached and asked Jacob if he’d like to see ‘something really exciting’.
Jacob said he would but I had my doubts, perhaps I was just that much more street savvy. The man held out his hand to Jacob who was about to take it, when I stepped in. “I’ll tell my Mummy,” I said. Middle class children called their parents ‘mummy’ and ‘daddy’. Perhaps they still do. I have little knowledge and thankfully no interest in children of seven or eight (breeding grounds of colds and coughs, I always think).
My outburst didn’t seem to deter the man so I came out with the strongest mantra I knew. “Don’t touch him or I’ll tell the police”. You remember the police perhaps in those days. They walked the streets stoically telling enquirers the time and, if we were offending in any way, giving us a clip round the ear which made our head ring for minutes afterwards. If we told our parents, they would say we deserved it, and, more than likely give us another.
The man’s expression changed. I think I can almost if not quite see it now. That amiable, ‘I’m your friend’ look altered to one of, what was it, fear? No, not fear, belligerence. He reached out his hand to grab Jacob’s arm and I remember shouting, “Run, Jacob, Run,” and we both hightailed it out of the bushes and into an open space where there were people around and I felt safe.
“Why did we have to run?” asked Jacob and I didn’t know, though I do of course now.
Title; To the Ends of the Earth
Author: Michael Gouda
Release Date: May 31st 2019
Pages: 60
Blurb
Johnny Appleseed is not his real name but the narrator, a journalist, adopts it when it seems that his report on a terrorist attack or perhaps a rift between him and his lover, put him in mortal danger. First his flat is burned down, then an explosion kills his police protectors and Johnny himself only narrowly escapes death. He does not know whom to trust and tries to hide out in a London squat, sinking to the level of a down-and-out. Eventually he has to face his enemy, before being reunited with those that really care for him. ‘I’ll follow you to the Ends of the Earth’. Is that a threat or a loving promise?
Michael Gouda was born and raised in London, England. He served in the RAF where, he claims, he lost his virginity. Then he went back to business. After a change of direction in his thirties, he left the world of commerce and entered that of education, becoming a teacher at a Comprehensive School in Worcestershire, England. Since retiring he lives in a limestone cottage in the Cotswolds with a neurotic Border Collie. He also writes under the name of Michael Duggan.