Dr Ron Dawson, BA, MSc, PhD. Chart Psychol, AFBPS, was born the illegimate son of a canteen waitress. At the age of two he was adopted by a canal boatman and his wife, an aging couple who already had five children of their own. Raised on the massive Kingstanding council estate in Birmingham and at the age of ten began contributing to the family income by scrubbing out dog kennels. After leaving school he had a succession of blue collar jobs including power press operator, toolsetter and toolmaker and it is these experiences which provide the backdrop to the world of Joseph L Stepping.
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Dr Ron Dawson, BA, MSc, PhD. Chart Psychol, AFBPS, was born the illegimate son of a canteen waitress. At the age of two he was adopted by a canal boatman and his wife, an aging couple who already had five children of their own. Raised on the massive Kingstanding council estate in Birmingham and at the age of ten began contributing to the family income by scrubbing out dog kennels. After leaving school he had a succession of blue collar jobs including power press operator, toolsetter and toolmaker and it is these experiences which provide the backdrop to the world of Joseph L Stepping.
In the late 1950's he ran with one of the notorious Kingstanding Teddy Boy Mobs before turning more ardently to the motorcycling gangs of the early sixties. These experiences provided the inspiration for his first novel, The Last Viking. Paradoxically it was his motorcycling activities that lead a major change in his life prospects. While recovering from a serious motorcycling accident he gained, via correspondence courses, sufficient O and A levels to begin training as a teacher in 1965.
Following his qualification as a teacher he went immediately into the field of Special Education to work with emotionally and behaviourally disturbed children. Within four years he was appointed Deputy Headteacher. Through self funding and part-time study he went on to achieve the awards of BA., MSc., and PhD. He was research officer for a Schools' Council research project and the director and research psychologist of an Urban Aid Funded research project, both concerned with 'The Education of Disturbed Pupils'. He became a chartered psychologist and Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society. It was his work with severely disturbed youngsters and his understanding of the cognitive functioning of the emotionally disturbed that provided the seed for The Worm that Flies in the Night. He was appointed the Inspector/Adviser for Special Education in two of the UK's largest education authorities before moving to became a Principal Lecturer, Head of a Department of Special Education and Habilitation and Course Director for Post-Graduate Awards.
He has had a considerable number of academic/research books, articles and reviews published, most notably the Macmillan Teacher Information Packs (TIPs) which ran to over 1500 pages and was described in a psychological journal review as an 'Opus Magnum'.
On 'retirement' Ron was at last free to write fiction for both children and adults. Within one year of his first novel, The Last Viking, being published he signed an option contract for it to be made into a film. In complete contrast, he has also written the first of a series of stories for children, The Amazing Adventures of Scary Bones the Skeleton. (ISBN 978-0-9561732-1-8). «View Less
Publishers and agents to push, push and push again a blossoming writing career that has a firm foundation and enormous potential.
Dr Ron Dawson, BA, MSc, PhD. Chart Psychol, AFBPS, was born the illegimate son of a canteen waitress. At the age of two he was adopted by a canal boatman and his wife, an aging couple who already had five children of their own. Raised on the massive Kingstanding council estate in Birmingham and at the age of ten began contributing to the family income by scrubbing out dog kennels. After leaving school he had a succession of blue collar jobs including power press operator, toolsetter and toolmaker and it is these experiences which provide the backdrop to the world of Joseph L Stepping.
In the late 1950's he ran with one of the notorious Kingstanding Teddy Boy Mobs before turning more ardently to the motorcycling gangs of the early sixties. These experiences provided the inspiration for his first novel, The Last Viking. Paradoxically it was his motorcycling activities that lead a major change in his life prospects. While recovering from a serious motorcycling accident he gained, via correspondence courses, sufficient O and A levels to begin training as a teacher in 1965.
Following his qualification as a teacher he went immediately into the field of Special Education to work with emotionally and behaviourally disturbed children. Within four years he was appointed Deputy Headteacher. Through self funding and part-time study he went on to achieve the awards of BA., MSc., and PhD. He was research officer for a Schools' Council research project and the director and research psychologist of an Urban Aid Funded research project, both concerned with 'The Education of Disturbed Pupils'. He became a chartered psychologist and Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society. It was his work with severely disturbed youngsters and his understanding of the cognitive functioning of the emotionally disturbed that provided the seed for The Worm that Flies in the Night. He was appointed the Inspector/Adviser for Special Education in two of the UK's largest education authorities before moving to became a Principal Lecturer, Head of a Department of Special Education and Habilitation and Course Director for Post-Graduate Awards.
He has had a considerable number of academic/research books, articles and reviews published, most notably the Macmillan Teacher Information Packs (TIPs) which ran to over 1500 pages and was described in a psychological journal review as an 'Opus Magnum'.
On 'retirement' Ron was at last free to write fiction for both children and adults. Within one year of his first novel, The Last Viking, being published he signed an option contract for it to be made into a film. In complete contrast, he has also written the first of a series of stories for children, The Amazing Adventures of Scary Bones the Skeleton. (ISBN 978-0-9561732-1-8). «View Less
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