Neil Blower is a British novelist based in Manchester.He joined the British army when he left school and served five years with the Royal Tank Regiment. Serving on operations in Kosovo and fought in the Iraq war in 2003.Neil studied for a degree in English literature and creative writing at the university of Salford before his first book - Shell Shock: The diary of Tommy Atkins was released in paperback October 2011 by Firestep press - an imprint of Firestep publishing.His second novel Dividing Lines is set for release March 2013.Neil is an avid reader, his favourite writers being Hemingway, James Joyce and Joseph Conrad.He is engaged to married to his partner of eight years Samantha, they live in Manchester with their children.