Ian Ayris
Ian Ayris was born in Dagenham, Essex, in August 1969. Having spent most of his childhood more interested in kicking a tennis ball about the school playground with his mates than actually learning anything, he managed to leave the public education system in 1985 with but two O' Levels and a handful of C.S.E.'s,
And a love of writing.
His academic achievements set him up nicely for the succession of low paid jobs he has maintained to this day. These jobs have included a three year stint as a delivery boy for an electrical company, five years putting nuts and bolts in boxes in a door factory, one day in a gin factory, and three months in a record shop, He then spent more than twenty years working with adults with mental health issues and learning difficulties.
In the meantime, Ian qualified as a counsellor, and now supervises trainee counsellors at a counselling agency in Dagenham.
He finally completed his English Literature degree in 2018, and has spent the last three years working as a teaching assistant in a local junior school.
Ian's love of writing resurfaced late in his thirties, in the guise of short stories, having his first story published in the legendary Radgepacket. He has since had almost forty short stories published both in print and online, as well as three novels and a novella.
Ian lives with his wife, Karen and dog, Kobi, in Romford, Essex, and is a lifelong Dagenham and Redbridge supporter.