If your mum vanished on Bonfire Night how far would you go to find the truth? Timothy Shaw travels 300 years into the past, battling DECEIVERS – creatures that shift between human and bird form – in a supernatural race against time to unravel his mum’s disappearance and unlock a dark secret. A secret that holds the key to the survival of mankind itself…

The Secret on the Second Shelf is a fantasy adventure novel, likely to appeal to fans of Philip Pullman, and/or those who like a good mix of mystery, scary monsters and time travel. It’s targeting 8+ year olds.

It features an ancient race called the Deceivers. They’re not a friendly bunch and have the rather annoying habit of shape-shifting into bird-like creatures when you least expect it. Set in Cambridge, the protagonist, Tim, must confront these scary beasts before he can uncover the truth about his mum, after she disappears on bonfire night – but also learn the ultimate truth about himself. Who is he really?

Gemma Bowen, who runs the after-school art club, helps Tim unravel the mystery when they find themselves transported back in time on their quest for the truth. Gemma is a strong, feisty female character with a love of art and her quirky cat, Einstein!

Jonathan was writing stories from an early age and recently uncovered his version of “Count Dracula” (probably written when he was about 11!). Inspired by authors such as Douglas Adams, Terrance Dicks, Roald Dahl and more recently – Dean Koontz, he was mesmerized by fantasy and science fiction stories; and still remembers the long queue for Star Wars at the local cinema when it first came out in 1977. TV and film have played their part too, with shows like Dr Who making a big impact. He used to publish Dr Who stories for a fanzine called Cosmic Masque, as well as submit stories to the BBC in his early teens (sadly, not televised!).

After studying a bachelor’s degree in Systems Design at the University of the West of England (Bristol), much of Jonathan’s working life has been spent in the IT industry, where he’s lived and worked in the UK, Estonia, Bulgaria and Malaysia! His happiest memories are of his time leading Skype for Windows – where he managed teams in London, Prague, Tallinn, Tartu and Palo Alto, joining Microsoft after they acquired Skype.

He has drawn much inspiration from his travels which lead him to publish non-fiction books on property investment, including – Buying a Property in Bulgaria (How To Books, 2005) and co-author of Buying in Bulgaria (Apogee Publishing, 2006).

His travels to India and Canada, coupled with his purchase of a special bronze compass in India, inspired him to write The Secret on the Second Shelf – his first novel – a supernatural fantasy adventure, targeting 8–12 year olds, which tells the story of a teenage boy whose mum goes missing on bonfire night and his battle with the creepy, shape-shifting Deceivers to find the truth.

It’s been a long journey putting it together and has seen several revisions worked through with Cornerstones literary consultancy; finally completing the novel in 2015. The Kindle version was released on Bonfire Night 2015; and the paperback version just before Bonfire Night 2016.

Jonathan is a father to 3 beautiful children. When he’s not writing, he enjoys photography, travel, and movies. On sabbatical, he studied practical filmmaking at the Met Film School in Ealing, London and released his first short film, No Such Thing As Monsters (adapted from The Secret on the Second Shelf) in May 2017, premiering at the Everyman cinema in Esher, Surrey.

If your mum vanished on Bonfire Night how far would you go to find the truth? Timothy Shaw travels 300 years into the past, battling DECEIVERS – creatures that shift between human and bird form – in a supernatural race against time to unravel his mum’s disappearance and unlock a dark secret. A secret that holds the key to the survival of mankind itself…

The Secret on the Second Shelf is now available in 3 formats: hardcover, paperback and Kindle.

• Hardcover version retails from £14.99 (UK)
• Paperback version retails from £7.99 (UK)
• Kindle version retails at £4.99 (UK)
• Audiobook — release due May 2026 on Audible, Amazon & iTunes