Gene Moran grew up in North Wales where he was known as Chris and enjoyed school, though he was politely asked to leave, with few qualifications, at the age of fifteen.
Next, he attended a Technical College where a lecturer convinced him of the merits of someone with his educational background becoming a teacher! So he completed his O and A Levels, an Art Foundation Course and a Joinery Course. By the age of eighteen, he was more than on a par with his academic peers.
Gene then enrolled at a Teacher Training College, where he was diagnosed with dyslexia. He now realises how this affected his school years. He qualified to teach Design & Technology and PE, and later completed a Degree in Management and Administration, writing his thesis on ‘Juvenile delinquency’.
He has undertaken creative writing workshops and, as a teacher, has written many policies, exam papers and reports – some more creative than others – but it’s the power of a good story that really intrigues him.
Most of his career has been spent in Special Education – EBD schools, Pupil Referral Units and working one-to-one with particularly difficult students – and this experience forms the basis of his novel Running on the Spectrum; which ultimately is about building relationships with troubled and challenging pupils. He also entered many students into the Special Welsh Championships where they achieved success in athletics and swimming.
Gene has a passion for the great outdoors and has participated in mountain marathons and volunteered as a member of a Mountain Rescue Team. His love of running shines through in his writing.
