New book is Putting a Stopper in the Bottle of Death and the Occult

“At its root word source, the occult means ‘hidden’ or ‘that which cannot be seen’” explains Gary, who is 55.

“I visit spelling, clothing, commerce, ceremonies, music, money and much, much more. An example is those who are married don’t realise they’ve been through a horse-breeding ceremony where a female horse or mare is tended by a groom, who is suited and booted and controls the mare with headgear, also known as bridalry which is where we get the term bridalwear.

“A female mare who cannot be controlled brings the origin of the word nightmare. Ever wondered why wedding cake decorations are predominantly horseshoes? And if a horse and carriage come to a stop with no product inside this is where we get the term miscarriage.

“The book is filled with these origins. It explores our titles, rules and laws. Some things are fun, some things are interesting and some things are frightening when you realise or when it’s pointed out to you.

“With the lockdown many of us in construction found ourselves to be in difficulty as the industry ground to a halt. While money became a problem, I thought I needed to do something, and I’m not a guy who sits around doing nothing.

“This is the first book in the series of ten. I didn’t think anybody would be interested in buying the first print run which was tiny but six months on it’s been sold to 52 countries and has been an Amazon number one-best seller.

“The rollercoaster ride has been an interesting one predominantly of self-doubt, fear of putting your name onto something for others to see and having the confidence to continue on writing, not knowing where the journey would lead. In fact, it’s taught me a lot about myself and after all, isn’t that what life is all about, knowing your true self.

“The stopper 1, as I call it is about words. The second book which is nearly finished is about hidden numbers, the third will be architecture, the fourth will be ancient languages and the origins in Mesopotamia, Phoenicia and the Acadians etc. There will be a series of ten. People who say to me ‘What’s it like being an author?’ I laugh as I am just Gary, a builder!

“As a child there were two things I wanted to do. One was to be a vet, the other a writer. Unfortunately, as a teenager, my parents passed away and I had to start life as a labourer while I worked my way through and into being a chartered surveyor.

“I started to work for powerful families and organisations. During this time I started to see things and the origin of things, made notes over those 20 years not realising it was the foundation that would be the formation of a series of books.

“The lockdowns have been a negative for so many people. Conversely the solitude helped me realise my dream. You can in no way earn enough just being a writer because that’s for a very chosen few but seeing your book in bookshops is very satisfying.”