‘In the blood-soaked trenches of WWI, Private John Wray carries a forbidden secret. A chance encounter with Hans, a college friend turned enemy soldier, changes everything, forcing John to weave a Web of Lies to survive the front.

Decades later, John is pulled back into the fray as an undercover MI5 agent in Nazi Berlin. Hunted by the SS and betrayed by his own handlers, he must rely on Han's father to navigate a city of Shadows. In a high-stakes race for the Swiss border, John must decide: Can he finally outrun his past, or will the shadows of War finally catch up with him?’

Paul, born and bred in Darlington, had his first venture into writing in the late 1990s when he began work on his first project, Flipper’s Side. Published by Scarsdale Books in 2000, this has now sold out.

This was later made into a film starring Bill Fellows (who very kindly wrote the Foreword for John’s Journey) and singing legend Toyah Willcox, who played Paul’s mother.

His second work was When Push Comes to Shove, a diary-style book that chronicled two seasons of following Darlington Football Club. This book was published by G.W. Belton Ltd. in 2003.

Paul completed his third book, Give Them Wings, which is a rewrite of Flipper’s Side, in 2021. G2 Entertainment published this work.

The following year, his next work, One Hundred of the Best, which details Paul’s favourite one hundred Darlington FC games, was published by Pitch Publishing.

In August 2024, For the Love of Darlo, which is the prequel to Give Them Wings, was published by Pitch Publishing. The book is mainly about Paul's school life.

In January 2025, Another One Hundred of the Best, which details Paul's favourite one hundred Darlington players.

The book garnered national attention, and the author was featured in radio interviews with the BBC World Service and TalkSport.

In addition, The David Speedie Story, which tells the story of the former Chelsea, Liverpool and Scotland striker, was published in September 2025 by Pitch Publishing and has performed exceptionally well.

Paul is also an accomplished scriptwriter and has won over 150 writing awards to date.

Paul said, ‘I’m over the moon, this is my first novel, which has been 15 years in the making (on and off).  I really hope people like it’.

JD Crist from Pumkin Head Publishing added, ‘John’s Journey is such an amazing story. I am honoured that Paul has entrusted me with helping to share his amazing work with the world. I hope readers are drawn into John’s life as much as I was’.

Paperback 224 pages     Publisher: Pumkin Head Publishing

ISBN-10: ‎ 1971168114   ISBN-13: ‎ 978-1971168111   RRP: £18.00