With the publication of his latest short story, Philip Lees of Kokkini Hani has once again redefined his position as the most prominent resident author of the Gouves Township.

The 5,000-word story, Virtual Analysis, appears in the “Killers” anthology, edited by Colin Harvey, and published this month by Swimming Kangaroo Books (see book review).

“I’ve published about 30 short stories in various print and on-line venues over the last few years,” Mr. Lees said. “I’m very excited about this one, and another new story, The Faerie Hogweed, slated for publication later this year.”

The 55-year-old author, a native of Great Britain, has lived in Greece for 30 years and in Kokkini Hani since 1994. In addition to his writing career, Mr. Lees is the technical editor of the Hellenic Journal of Cardiology, which is published every two months.

“It’s a challenging position which I enjoy very much,” he commented, “but my true

love is fiction writing. In addition to the short stories, I’ve written two novels, still unpublished, unfortunately. I’m currently working on my third novel and I’m confident this will be my breakthrough work in that field.”

Educated at Oxford, Mr. Lees writes on many different subjects, but he admits to an affinity with the science fiction genre.   

“My first short fiction sale was to Eagle Comics in the mid 1960s,” he said. “The prominence of the Dan Dare spaceman character in that discerning publication is an indication that my fascination with science fiction goes a long way back.”

Mr. Lees accepts Writers of the Future Award

One of Mr. Lees’ most exciting story successes was when one of his published works, a short story entitled Lucretia’s Nose, was placed in the prestigious Writers of the Future competition and appeared in anthology volume XVII, 2001.

“That gave me my one big moment of fame,” he said, but quickly added: “so far.”

Mr. Lees, who lists Philip K. Dick, Stephen King and Dick Francis among his favourite authors, said he has never written a work that started as a short story and developed into a novel, as some writers have claimed.

“When I start a story, I know basically how many words it will take to tell the tale,” he said. “I know what I want to write about and how the story will develop.”

Mr. Lees is currently building a home in the mountainous village of Koskina, on the island of Evia, but will not forsake Kokkini Hani completely.

“The nature of my work, both as author and editor, allows me to use the internet, which gives me the flexibility to move around,” he said. “I will keep my house here, and split my time between my two favourite islands . . . Evia for the countryside and Crete for the seashore.”

Wherever he writes, one thing is certain . . . Philip Lees will always have another story to tell.