Graham Downs

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Born
in Alberton, South Africa
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April 2012

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Graham Downs is a South African author of short stories, flash fiction, and novelettes, in a variety of genres. Memoirs of a Guardian Angel is his longest work to date.

He currently lives in Alberton, Gauteng, with his wife and their dog, Becky. He spends a good portion of his free time reading and, as with his writing, he reads books in a huge range of genres and lengths. He’s also passionate about South African authors—particularly independently published ones.

Graham's publishing journey began in 2012, with his first book, A Petition to Magic, which is a fantasy short story about a wizard who refuses to perform magic, and a queen who insists that he do just that. He freely admits that back then, just like John Snow, he knew nothing (now, h
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Graham Downs I'm between projects at the moment. To be honest, I've been between projects for a while now, resting on my laurels after releasing Memoirs of a Guard…moreI'm between projects at the moment. To be honest, I've been between projects for a while now, resting on my laurels after releasing Memoirs of a Guardian Angel last year.

But it's a new year, and time for some new adventures, so you can be sure I'll be working on something soon!(less)
Graham Downs Wow, thanks for the question!

It's not as easy to answer as you might think. I have so many ideas floating around in my head, and many of those ideas w…more
Wow, thanks for the question!

It's not as easy to answer as you might think. I have so many ideas floating around in my head, and many of those ideas would only work if written in a certain genre. So each of my books, regardless of the genre, has a really special place in my heart.

If I was really pressed to pick just one, I would have to say A Petition to Magic. It was my first self-published work, and so it will always be special to me.

Another one that springs to mind, as perhaps a close second, is Stingers. That one came into my head as pretty much a complete story, when I was invited by Darren Worrow to write something for his (then) upcoming anthology, I am not Frazzle! People who know me tell me it's my most authentic story, because it's about bullying in High School. Having been bullied myself, I have a fairly good recollection of my High School years, and with both my parents being schoolteachers, I also have a fairly good understanding of what goes on in a school staffroom.

Both of those experiences, I think, really came through in the descriptions of the situations and characters in Stingers.

My favourite genre to READ is Fantasy, and A Petition to Magic is Fantasy. I want to start getting back to that, so I'm working on Tales From Virdura, which is set in the same world. I can only hope that it will be as well received as A Petition to Magic was.(less)
Average rating: 3.81 · 150 ratings · 53 reviews · 11 distinct works
Billy's Zombie

3.60 avg rating — 70 ratings — published 2014 — 7 editions
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A Petition to Magic

3.54 avg rating — 24 ratings — published 2012 — 8 editions
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Memoirs of a Guardian Angel

4.28 avg rating — 18 ratings4 editions
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Heritage of Deceit

4.11 avg rating — 9 ratings — published 2013 — 10 editions
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Stingers

4.11 avg rating — 9 ratings — published 2013 — 16 editions
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Heaven and Earth: Paranorma...

3.57 avg rating — 7 ratings — published 2015 — 7 editions
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Tales From Virdura

3.50 avg rating — 2 ratings4 editions
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Animals

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it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating
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Transport

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it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating
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Hong Kong prints

0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings
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More books by Graham Downs…

Do You Have a Favourite Word?

 A few weeks ago, an authoress whose newsletter I subscribe to (Christine Bernard. Check her out) sent out an email, asking people what their favourite words are.


This got me thinking. I really enjoy the old irregular past tense forms of words and use them whenever they're available. Words like shone, dreamt, learnt, etc. Personally, I just feel like those "old" forms are more poetic, more aestheti

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Published on March 01, 2021 21:00
A Petition to Magic Tales From Virdura
(2 books)
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3.54 avg rating — 26 ratings

Graham’s Recent Updates

Graham Downs has read
Jamie Bond Mysteries Boxed Set by Gemma Halliday
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Graham Downs has read
Resonant Blue by C.J. Marsicano
Resonant Blue
by C.J. Marsicano (Goodreads Author)
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Graham Downs has read
Comes the War Wizards' Wrath by Austin Dragon
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Through Titan's Trail by Austin Dragon
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Paths by Dean Skinner
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Graham Downs has read
Broken by Dean Skinner
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Healed by Dean Skinner
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Graham Downs has read
The Tooth Collector by Lindsey Beth Goddard
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Graham Downs has read
Killer Space Clown by Eli Taff, Jr.
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Graham Downs has read
Foothold by F.T.G. Thornton
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Quotes by Graham Downs  (?)
Quotes are added by the Goodreads community and are not verified by Goodreads. (Learn more)

“The one ring, to rule them all’? Sounds very far-fetched to me!”
Graham Downs, Heritage of Deceit

“Once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return.”
Leonardo da Vinci

“People are stupid. They will believe a lie because they want to believe it's true, or because they are afraid it might be true.”
Terry Goodkind, Wizard's First Rule

“If the road is easy, you're likely going the wrong way.”
Terry Goodkind

“Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the universe.”
Albert Einstein

“Insanity is doing the same thing, over and over again, but expecting different results.”
Narcotics Anonymous

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126457 The Creative Writer's Toolbelt — 261 members — last activity Jan 21, 2024 12:17PM
The Creative Writers Toolbelt podcast gives you practical, accessible advice, with examples, that you can apply to your writing immediately. You can ...more
125065 I Am Not Frazzle! — 15 members — last activity Aug 03, 2014 03:09AM
This group's purpose to raise awareness of the book "I am not Frazzle," an anthology based project with all the funds going to the Devizes Opportunity ...more
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