{"id":46,"date":"2026-02-10T11:42:26","date_gmt":"2026-02-10T11:42:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dpnwordpress.org\/derekthompson\/?page_id=46"},"modified":"2026-03-03T16:23:56","modified_gmt":"2026-03-03T16:23:56","slug":"about","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/dpnwordpress.org\/derekthompson\/","title":{"rendered":"Home"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-8f761849 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:100%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-3 is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"355\" height=\"472\" data-id=\"213\" src=\"https:\/\/dpnwordpress.org\/derekthompson\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/16-book-covers-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-213\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dpnwordpress.org\/derekthompson\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/16-book-covers-1.jpg 355w, https:\/\/dpnwordpress.org\/derekthompson\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/16-book-covers-1-226x300.jpg 226w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 355px) 100vw, 355px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">My books<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"800\" data-id=\"122\" src=\"https:\/\/dpnwordpress.org\/derekthompson\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/DT-author-photo.jpg\" alt=\"Author photograph of British novelist and short story writer Derek Thompson.\" class=\"wp-image-122\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dpnwordpress.org\/derekthompson\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/DT-author-photo.jpg 800w, https:\/\/dpnwordpress.org\/derekthompson\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/DT-author-photo-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/dpnwordpress.org\/derekthompson\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/DT-author-photo-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/dpnwordpress.org\/derekthompson\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/DT-author-photo-768x768.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Writer services<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"800\" data-id=\"117\" src=\"https:\/\/dpnwordpress.org\/derekthompson\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/classic_spy_camera.webp\" alt=\"Classic spy camera used by British spies and intelligence officers, such as MI5 or MI6.\" class=\"wp-image-117\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dpnwordpress.org\/derekthompson\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/classic_spy_camera.webp 800w, https:\/\/dpnwordpress.org\/derekthompson\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/classic_spy_camera-300x300.webp 300w, https:\/\/dpnwordpress.org\/derekthompson\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/classic_spy_camera-150x150.webp 150w, https:\/\/dpnwordpress.org\/derekthompson\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/classic_spy_camera-768x768.webp 768w, https:\/\/dpnwordpress.org\/derekthompson\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/classic_spy_camera-730x730.webp 730w, https:\/\/dpnwordpress.org\/derekthompson\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/classic_spy_camera-365x365.webp 365w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">My blog<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<style>.kb-gallery-id-46_244e1b-6a .kadence-blocks-gallery-item .kb-gal-image-radius, .kb-gallery-id-46_244e1b-6a .kb-slide-item .kb-gal-image-radius img{border-radius:0px 0px 0px 0px;;}.kb-gallery-id-46_244e1b-6a .kadence-blocks-gallery-item .kadence-blocks-gallery-item-inner .kadence-blocks-gallery-item__caption{font-size:var(--global-kb-font-size-lg, 2rem);font-family:\"Palatino Linotype\", \"Book Antiqua\", Palatino, serif;}.kb-gallery-caption-style-cover-hover.kb-gallery-id-46_244e1b-6a .kadence-blocks-gallery-item .kadence-blocks-gallery-item-inner .kadence-blocks-gallery-item__caption, .kb-gallery-caption-style-below.kb-gallery-id-46_244e1b-6a .kadence-blocks-gallery-item .kadence-blocks-gallery-item-inner .kadence-blocks-gallery-item__caption{background:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.06);}.kb-gallery-wrap-id-46_244e1b-6a.wp-block-kadence-advancedgallery{overflow:visible;}.kb-gallery-wrap-id-46_244e1b-6a.wp-block-kadence-advancedgallery .kt-blocks-carousel{overflow:visible;}<\/style><div class=\"kb-gallery-wrap-id-46_244e1b-6a alignnone wp-block-kadence-advancedgallery\"><div class=\"kb-gallery-ul kb-gallery-non-static kb-gallery-type-slider kb-gallery-id-46_244e1b-6a kb-gallery-caption-style-cover-hover kb-gallery-filter-none\" data-image-filter=\"none\" data-lightbox-caption=\"true\"><div class=\"kt-blocks-carousel splide kt-carousel-container-dotstyle-dark kt-carousel-arrowstyle-whiteondark kt-carousel-dotstyle-dark kb-slider-group-arrow kb-slider-arrow-position-center\" data-slider-anim-speed=\"400\" data-slider-scroll=\"1\" data-slider-arrows=\"true\" data-slider-fade=\"true\" data-slider-dots=\"true\" data-slider-type=\"slider\" data-slider-hover-pause=\"false\" data-slider-auto=\"1\" data-slider-speed=\"7000\" data-show-pause-button=\"false\"><div class=\"splide__track\"><ul class=\"kt-blocks-carousel-init kb-blocks-slider splide__list\"><li class=\"kb-slide-item kb-gallery-slide-item splide__slide\"><div class=\"kadence-blocks-gallery-item\"><div class=\"kadence-blocks-gallery-item-inner\"><figure class=\"kb-gallery-figure kb-gallery-item-has-link kadence-blocks-gallery-item-has-caption\"><a href=\"https:\/\/dpnwordpress.org\/derekthompson\/blog\/\" class=\"kb-gallery-item-link\"  ><div class=\"kb-gal-image-radius\"><div class=\"kb-gallery-image-contain kadence-blocks-gallery-intrinsic kb-gallery-image-ratio-land41 kb-has-image-ratio-land41\" ><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg'%20viewBox='0%200%201000%20667'%3E%3C\/svg%3E\"  data-splide-lazy=\"https:\/\/dpnwordpress.org\/derekthompson\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Long-clouds-gallery-slide-1024x243.jpg\" width=\"1024\" height=\"243\" alt=\"Long clouds\" data-full-image=\"https:\/\/dpnwordpress.org\/derekthompson\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Long-clouds-gallery-slide.jpg\" data-light-image=\"https:\/\/dpnwordpress.org\/derekthompson\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Long-clouds-gallery-slide.jpg\" data-splide-lazy-srcset=\"https:\/\/dpnwordpress.org\/derekthompson\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Long-clouds-gallery-slide-1024x243.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/dpnwordpress.org\/derekthompson\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Long-clouds-gallery-slide-300x71.jpg 300w, https:\/\/dpnwordpress.org\/derekthompson\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Long-clouds-gallery-slide-768x182.jpg 768w, https:\/\/dpnwordpress.org\/derekthompson\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Long-clouds-gallery-slide-1536x364.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/dpnwordpress.org\/derekthompson\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Long-clouds-gallery-slide.jpg 1900w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"data-id=\"281\" class=\"wp-image-281 skip-lazy\"\/><\/div><div class=\"kadence-blocks-gallery-item__caption\">Here&#8217;s what I think&#8230;<\/div><\/div><\/a><\/figure><\/div><\/div><\/li><li class=\"kb-slide-item kb-gallery-slide-item splide__slide\"><div class=\"kadence-blocks-gallery-item\"><div class=\"kadence-blocks-gallery-item-inner\"><figure class=\"kb-gallery-figure kb-gallery-item-has-link kadence-blocks-gallery-item-has-caption\"><a href=\"https:\/\/dpnwordpress.org\/derekthompson\/books\/#thomasbladenseries\" class=\"kb-gallery-item-link\"  ><div class=\"kb-gal-image-radius\"><div class=\"kb-gallery-image-contain kadence-blocks-gallery-intrinsic kb-gallery-image-ratio-land41 kb-has-image-ratio-land41\" ><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg'%20viewBox='0%200%201000%20667'%3E%3C\/svg%3E\"  data-splide-lazy=\"https:\/\/dpnwordpress.org\/derekthompson\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Urban-streets-slide-1024x243.jpg\" width=\"1024\" height=\"243\" alt=\"\" data-full-image=\"https:\/\/dpnwordpress.org\/derekthompson\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Urban-streets-slide.jpg\" data-light-image=\"https:\/\/dpnwordpress.org\/derekthompson\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Urban-streets-slide.jpg\" data-splide-lazy-srcset=\"https:\/\/dpnwordpress.org\/derekthompson\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Urban-streets-slide-1024x243.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/dpnwordpress.org\/derekthompson\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Urban-streets-slide-300x71.jpg 300w, https:\/\/dpnwordpress.org\/derekthompson\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Urban-streets-slide-768x182.jpg 768w, https:\/\/dpnwordpress.org\/derekthompson\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Urban-streets-slide-1536x364.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/dpnwordpress.org\/derekthompson\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Urban-streets-slide.jpg 1900w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"data-id=\"288\" class=\"wp-image-288 skip-lazy\"\/><\/div><div class=\"kadence-blocks-gallery-item__caption\">Thomas Bladen spy thrillers:<br>The spying game just got personal<\/div><\/div><\/a><\/figure><\/div><\/div><\/li><li class=\"kb-slide-item kb-gallery-slide-item splide__slide\"><div class=\"kadence-blocks-gallery-item\"><div class=\"kadence-blocks-gallery-item-inner\"><figure class=\"kb-gallery-figure kb-gallery-item-has-link kadence-blocks-gallery-item-has-caption\"><a href=\"https:\/\/dpnwordpress.org\/derekthompson\/other-services\/\" class=\"kb-gallery-item-link\"  ><div class=\"kb-gal-image-radius\"><div class=\"kb-gallery-image-contain kadence-blocks-gallery-intrinsic kb-gallery-image-ratio-land41 kb-has-image-ratio-land41\" ><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg'%20viewBox='0%200%201000%20667'%3E%3C\/svg%3E\"  data-splide-lazy=\"https:\/\/dpnwordpress.org\/derekthompson\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Writer-services-1024x243.jpg\" width=\"1024\" height=\"243\" alt=\"\" data-full-image=\"https:\/\/dpnwordpress.org\/derekthompson\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Writer-services.jpg\" data-light-image=\"https:\/\/dpnwordpress.org\/derekthompson\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Writer-services.jpg\" data-splide-lazy-srcset=\"https:\/\/dpnwordpress.org\/derekthompson\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Writer-services-1024x243.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/dpnwordpress.org\/derekthompson\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Writer-services-300x71.jpg 300w, https:\/\/dpnwordpress.org\/derekthompson\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Writer-services-768x182.jpg 768w, https:\/\/dpnwordpress.org\/derekthompson\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Writer-services-1536x364.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/dpnwordpress.org\/derekthompson\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Writer-services.jpg 1900w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"data-id=\"289\" class=\"wp-image-289 skip-lazy\"\/><\/div><div class=\"kadence-blocks-gallery-item__caption\">Freelance writer, speaker and writing mentor:<br>What can I do for you?<\/div><\/div><\/a><\/figure><\/div><\/div><\/li><\/ul><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><br>Welcome to my bookish website<\/h1>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" id=\"thomasbladenseries\">I\u2019m Derek Thompson, a British novelist and short story writer living in Cornwall. This website will tell you about my books, take you behind the scenes, talk about my other writing, and share my writing services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" id=\"block-46c7277a-5736-4885-a2f2-a15204986e8f\"><strong>If you&#8217;re short on time, <a href=\"https:\/\/dpnwordpress.org\/derekthompson\/books\/\">click here to see my books<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" id=\"block-fc188686-48fe-4924-a5eb-ab672a32a6a1\"><strong>If you&#8217;re not . . . read on!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" id=\"block-2532aa28-44b5-4879-80ca-633914c27bd1\">Our lives are held together and interconnected by <em>stories<\/em>. They&#8217;re what makes us tick. Whether it&#8217;s shared experiences, or a common heritage, we define ourselves by the stories we tell, the types of story we seek out, and the ones we return to time and time again (sometimes involving different characters and settings). <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" id=\"block-2532aa28-44b5-4879-80ca-633914c27bd1\">Fiction contains its own truth. Some call it metaphor and others talk about symbolism. I prefer to think of it as enchantment. The ability to keep us turning the page, reluctant to leave a fictional world that someone conjured on to the page &#8211; seemingly out of nowhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Storytelling and stories have always been my passion. In good times and bad times, books are a constant (and ever changing) companion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" id=\"block-2532aa28-44b5-4879-80ca-633914c27bd1\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Welcome to my bookish website I\u2019m Derek Thompson, a British novelist and short story writer living in Cornwall. This website will tell you about my books, take you behind the scenes, talk about my other writing, and share my writing &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/dpnwordpress.org\/derekthompson\/\">Continued<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"kt_blocks_editor_width":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-46","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dpnwordpress.org\/derekthompson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/46","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dpnwordpress.org\/derekthompson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dpnwordpress.org\/derekthompson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dpnwordpress.org\/derekthompson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dpnwordpress.org\/derekthompson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46"}],"version-history":[{"count":41,"href":"https:\/\/dpnwordpress.org\/derekthompson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/46\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":312,"href":"https:\/\/dpnwordpress.org\/derekthompson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/46\/revisions\/312"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dpnwordpress.org\/derekthompson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}