Douglas Schofield

Douglas Schofield was raised and educated in British Columbia, where he earned degrees in History and Law. Over the past three decades, he has worked as a trial lawyer in Canada, Bermuda and the Cayman Islands. During those years, he prosecuted and defended hundreds of cases of serious crime. In 2013, after nine years as Assistant Solicitor General in the Cayman Islands Government, Douglas returned to private practice. Douglas and his wife Melody live on Grand Cayman, along with their most excellent and amazing talking cat, Juno, who kindly permits them to share his home. Although Douglas dabbled in creative writing for many years, "Flight Risks" was his first completed novel-length manuscript. Completed in 2002, the original 752-page manuscript went through several revisions and several years of sitting untouched in a drawer before it was finally picked up by a small publishing house in England. Enthusiastic reader feedback fully justified the publisher's initial reaction. A January 2011 review in the Victoria Times-Colonist, a leading daily newspaper in Western Canada, described Flight Risks as: "...a fast-paced snappy thriller ... utterly believable ... The resolution, while something of a surprise, is absolutely satisfying" Douglas has also written a number of screenplays. In 2004, he enrolled in an intensive screenwriting seminar in Los Angeles. He spent the entire course sitting next to an engaging young actress named Drew Barrymore. Not surprisingly, this encounter was a bit distracting, but somehow Douglas managed to pick up the essentials. A year later, his script for "Time Out Of Mind," a murder mystery / love story, took first prize in its category in the Fade In Magazine/Writer's Network Screenwriting Competition. His next screenplay, "Succession"--a thriller set in New Jersey and England during the traumatic days following Princess Diana's death in that Paris tunnel--has attracted serious attention in Hollywood. In 2012, "Flight Risks" was re-issued in the UK by MIWK Publishing. That event was followed immediately by release of his second novel, "Succession," based on the screenplay. The new novel was enthusiastically described by Oscar-nominated actor Graham Greene in vivid terms: "Better than ice cream--the way the story unfolds is excellent, the characters are wonderful, the story is like a basket of delicate gourmet treats!" In 2014, Douglas accepted an offer for his third novel from St. Martin's Press, a division of Macmillan Publishing. "Time of Departure" is based on his prize-winning screenplay, "Time Out Of Mind." It is due for North American release on December 1, 2015. Douglas has now commenced work on "Sorrow's Heir," also for St. Martin's Press. It is due for release in late 2016.