User:Jsandilands

J. Robert Whittle
Known as Bobby or Bob Whittle during his youth in Yorkshire, England, he attended Leeds University, becoming qualified as a Mining Engineer at the age of 19 but too young to receive a degree at the time. Under scholarship with the British Coal Board who had recognized his unusual talents, at the age of 24 he was hired to lead their First Response to Disaster Team in local and European underground coal mines. At this early stage of his life, he was not to know that 42 years later he would begin a new career as J. Robert Whittle, the Canadian historical novelist who within several years would have three Canadian bestselling titles to his credit.

First 40 Years
John Robert Whittle, Mining Engineer and Author, (born 10 June 1933) is the eldest son and second of ten children born to George Whittle and Elsie Bottom of Grange Moor, Yorkshire, England. His mother said he was smiling when he was born and people say he hasn't stopped! From the age of four, young Bobby wanted to earn money to help the family, so by the age of six he was busy scheming on how to fill his jam jars with coins, amazing the local villagers with his ingenuity and work ethic. Known as the village scrapper, Bobby fought for anyone who was being picked on even if the antagonist was bigger than him. This sometimes resulted in serious injury as when he was taken on by three bigger lads who threw him over a wall at the age of 11. At the age of 13, he played schoolboy representative cricket for England which soon resulted in him becoming sought after by the ‘older lads.’ As a part-time wicket keeper in a professional league at 14 years, he was soon offered a fulltime professional career but his father suggested he get a real job. During the 1950s, he was in demand by cricket teams all over England due to his quick hands and aggressive form of play resulting in several injuries, some deemed intentional! In 1951, he married his childhood sweetheart, Bessie Smith and they had two children, Robert Jr. and Carol.

On scholarship to the British Coal Board from the age of 15, he attended Leeds University and became Britain’s youngest mining engineer, having just turned 19. However, although the results of his exams show he had passed, they could not award him his degree at such a young age. Instead, he was taken under the wing of the British Coal Board and at the age of 24 was invited to head Britain’s First Response to Disaster Team. His skills were utilized in various coal mines of the United Kingdom and his team travelled, when needed, to Europe and Asia working in various capacities. His no-nonsense attitude and skill in saving lives earned him the nickname, "The Iron Man." By 1964, after being involved and, many times seriously injured in life-threatening accidents, he called it quits. He left an honourable legacy especially amongst his team who all had stories of how Bob had saved their lives. They were sorry to see him go but understood when he moved his young family to Western Australia - far enough away that he couldn't be called back in an emergency. Here, he planned to live a quiet and less dangerous life. Never wanting to talk about himself and his work experience, it took time for his new employer(s) to realize his talents. Thus,it was sometime later that he became the head of a construction team for "James Hardie" building large open air warehouses in the Western Australian desert.

In 1968, he was on the move again, this time to Winnipeg, Canada, after accepting a job from the Canadian government building a school in Canada’s Arctic at Resolute Bay, Baffin Island for two years. In early 1970, he was seriously injured while working on the new Canadian Mint building in Winnipeg, Manitoba when his slip staging collapsed and he fell 30 feet landing on his back onto a concrete sidewalk and breaking his neck. Worker's Compensation refused to accept responsibility so, years later, he finally gave up on his health claim now having fused vertebrae at both top and bottom of his spine from workplace accidents.

He moved to Victoria, BC and became a Canadian citizen in 1971. In 1979, he returned for a period to England, returning to Victoria again in 1985, where he met his present wife, Joyce Sandilands.

Becoming an Author
In 1994, while recuperating from surgery on an old mining injury to his left knee, Whittle discovered he possessed a previously unknown talent for writing stories. Acquiring a life threatening Staphylococcus infection during this surgery required a near four-year recovery period during which time he underwent six surgeries as doctors fought to save his left leg. He passed the time by writing, but instead of writing his biography as Joyce had requested, he stunned everyone by writing a novel. With Sandilands' encouragement, he then wrote two more novels during these four years and it was that third book which Sandilands felt they should have published. While she edited the book, she did some research into publishing companies and decided to publish it herself. Robert was now 65 and she felt there was no time to waste if he was going to become an author and receive, what she felt was some well-earned glory.

"Lizzie: Lethal Innocence" became Whittle's first bestselling novel and the first of his many popular novels, nine of which were published by late 2008. Readers soon discovered the novelty of Whittle's novels saying they were well-written and refreshingly different soon gaining the new description "family friendly." Despite being sold in several local independent bookstores, Whittle and his wife soon discovered that the easiest way to sell their books was by attending farmer-type markets as well as Christmas Craft Shows in and around Victoria, BC as well as other areas of British Columbia. The popularity of his historically accurate novels, however, soon proved he was one of Canada's early self-publishing success stories giving them bragging rights to three bestsellers and two gold medal Independent Publisher awards in 2007 and 2008 for "Loyalty's Haven" and "Whispers Across Time."

Lizzie Series
Whittle's first book, "Lizzie: Lethal Innocence" featured a nine-year-old London, England street waif who discovers a penchant for entrepreneurship. The subject was not so unusual for this man who had himself been an entrepreneur since the age of six in Yorkshire during WW2. Initially wanting to help his family purchase necessary items during the war, he found remarkable ways to earn money and later, by the age of 17-years he had enough money to purchase his first house, cleaning it up and selling it. Utilizing some of his own history and experiences, this book quickly became Whittle’s first Canadian Bestseller in 2000 giving rise to three more volumes in the "Lizzie Series" by popular demand.

Victoria Chronicles
Readers soon encouraged the approachable author to write about historical events in his adopted hometown of Victoria, BC. In 2001, the first book of the "Victoria Chronicles Trilogy," "Bound by Loyalty" was published. Set in the early 1900s Victoria, BC and the Pacific Northwest's Washington coast, this book quickly became Whittle’s second bestselling novel, followed by "Loyalty’s Reward," the second book in the series and book three, "Loyalty's Haven." The latter was entered in the Independent Publisher Contest (IPPY Awards) and won a Gold Medal in the Canada:West category for 2007. These two series have made J. Robert Whittle a household name to the thousands of readers who either live in the Pacific Northwest or return to visit Victoria looking for the author and his latest book at his Bastion Square market stand where he continues in 2015 at the age of 82.

In 2008, Whittle and Sandilands won their second Gold Medal IPPY Award in the same category for their novel, "Whispers Across Time" (their first co-authored novel and Whittle’s first single title). They published their second co-authored novel in late 2008 entitled, "Race For A Treasure." By this time, Sandilands had also written and published two children’s chapter books based on a short story by her husband. These two books became known as the "Moonbeam Series," entitled, "Leprechaun Magic" and "3 On a Moonbeam."

List of Publications by J. Robert Whittle
Lizzie: Lethal Innocence, 1999,	Book 1 of Lizzie Series - Historical Fiction of two child entrepreneurs set in early 19thC London, England during Napoleonic War Lizzie: Lethal Innocence, Audio Book CD, 2003, narrated by J. Robert Whittle, produced by Joyce Sandilands and recorded by Majestic Sound, Victoria, BC. As of 2015, this was an internet download. Lizzie: Lethal Innocence, Audio Book MP3, 2003, narrated by J. Robert Whittle, produced by Joyce Sandilands and recorded by Majestic Sound, Victoria, BC. As of 2015, this was an internet download. Lizzie: Lethal Innocence, Audio Book Cassette Tape, 2003, narrated by J. Robert Whittle, produced by Joyce Sandilands and recorded by Majestic Sound, Victoria, BC. Discontinued C2006. Lizzie's Secret Angels, 2000, Book 2 of Lizzie Series - Historical Fiction of two child entrepreneurs set in early 19thC London, England during Napoleonic War Streets of Hope, 2002, Book 3 of Lizzie Series - Historical Fiction of two child entrepreneurs set in early 19thC London, England and Hartfordshire during Industrial Revolution Lizzie’s Legacy, 2004, Book 4 of Lizzie Series - Historical Fiction of two child entrepreneurs set in early 19thC London, England during Industrial Revolution Bound by Loyalty, 2001, Book 1 of Victoria Chronicles Trilogy - Historical Fiction 1900-1914 Pacific Northwest (BC., Canada and WA., USA) Loyalty's Reward, 2003, Book 2 of Victoria Chronicles Trilogy - Historical Fiction 1914-1918 Pacific Northwest, England and Europe during prohibition and WW1 Loyalty's Haven, 2006, Book 3 of Victoria Chronicles Trilogy - Historical Fiction 1918-1919 Pacific Northwest during Spanish Influenza Epidemic Bound by Loyalty, 2003, Book 1 of Victoria Chronicles Trilogy, Hardcover Ed., Historical Fiction 1900-1914 Pacific Northwest (BC., Canada and WA., USA). Loyalty's Reward, 2003, Book 2 of Victoria Chronicles Trilogy, Hardcover Ed., Historical Fiction 1914-1918 Pacific Northwest, England and Europe during prohibition and WW1 Loyalty's Haven, 2006, Book 3 of Victoria Chronicles Trilogy, Hardcover Ed., Historical Fiction 1918-1919 Pacific Northwest during Spanish Influenza Epidemic Whispers Across Time, 2007, co-author, Joyce Sandilands; Historical Fiction, fantasy and time-travel, 18th, 19th, 20th centuries, Pacific Northwest (Victoria, BC, Seattle and Everett, WA) Leprechaun Magic, 2000, Book 1 of Moonbeam Series, co-author, Joyce Sandilands; children's fantasy, a chapter book set in Fairyland; based on a short story by J. Robert Whittle Leprechaun Magic, Audio Book CD, 2003, Book 1 of Moonbeam Series, narrated by Joyce Sandilands 3 On a Moonbeam, 2004, author, Joyce Sandilands; children's fantasy, a chapter book set in Fairyland; based on a short story by J. Robert Whittle 3 On a Moonbeam, Audio Book CD, 2004, Book 2 of Moonbeam Series, author, Joyce Sandilands; narrated by Joyce Sandilands Laughing Through Life–Tales of a Yorkshireman, 2005, Autobiographical CD featuring self-narrated short stories of author, J. Robert Whittle's own life, produced by Joyce Sandilands and recorded by Majestic Sound, Victoria, BC. Race For A Treasure, 2008, co-author, Joyce Sandilands; Historical Fiction, Pacific Northwest (Victoria, BC, Ucluelet and Vancouver Island, BC) Yesterdays-A Collection of Short Stories, 2010, co-author, Joyce Sandilands Silent Destiny, 2014, co-author, Joyce Sandilands; Historical Fiction set in 2006 featuring a mystery of the missing Royal Regalia from William Wallace's time 700 years before All books are available as ebooks

Reference: J. Robert Whittle and www.jrobertwhittle.com