Author Simon Patrick, who lived near Milverton for many years, has just published a novel set on Exmoor and exploring the clash of values between people who treasure environmental values and those who deal with commercial pressures.
Simon explains how Pan’s Principle came to be written. “After twelve years in London working as a City trader, I moved down to the beautiful foothills of Exmoor and ran a small Taunton-based communications and design agency which I ultimately sold to my partners to concentrate on fiction writing. 
“After struggling to get my first book published, I moved back into commercial management roles, but my true commitment has always been to writing, particularly about issues close to my heart: of these, a deep love of nature and our dependence on its health for our own survival, and that of future generations, is the most compelling.
“Pan’s Principle is a sequel to my first novel, Westerly, which concerns the same family on Exmoor, a generation earlier, torn apart by planning developments on the edge of their farm.
“I am about to start work on the third novel of the trilogy, The Fool on the Hill, which I hope will be ready for publication in 2014. My belief is that, whatever your reason for writing fiction, it must first and foremost be a cracking good story, well told.”
You can read Chapter One, plus another three short extracts, of Pan’s Principle by clicking here, and on that page there’s a link to Amazon where you can download the whole book. It’s already had five-star reviews from readers.
“I do hope you enjoy Pan’s Principle. Please Tweet me @jsimonpatrick if you would like to give feedback or log a review on Amazon.” adds Simon.
Beauty v Money in Exmoor novel
