One of five siblings Rory O’Rourke was born and raised in the Northeast of England. He studied Civil Engineering at University and went on to set up his own engineering business which he expanded into Europe and the USA, eventually selling his group of companies in 2018. 

Rory began writing fiction immediately after and completed his debut novel, Memories Can't Wait, in 2024. Although his career has been in engineering, he has always had a yearning to write fiction. 

In his career, he met many ruthless and unscrupulous people, dealing with them all the same way, by being being straight and mercilously tough on them. 

Rory has always liked a feel-good story; a success borne from adversity, the bully getting what they deserve. His writing has allowed him to put into words aspects of his life that are most important to him, those being, love, kindness, humour and reconciliation. 

The characters that form the core of his debut novel are far from biographical, or even relate that closely to anyone he knows, bar one or two exceptions. Problem is, no matter how hard you try to make things up, the chances are your idea for a plot has happened to someone somewhere before, it’s what makes his writing so relatable. 

The struggles we all have in life are real, so the victories need celebrating, as often as possible. Perhaps some of us have it easier that others, it all relative, right, and it depends on your perspective to some extent. Most of us will never be shot at, but if you are in the armed forces, it could happen a lot; many of us haven’t starved ourselves for days on end, but try being a single mum with bills to pay; and only a small percentage of us have been imprisoned. Having your freedom taken away could have a very profound effect on the rest of your life, or, we may simply shrug and put it down to experience. 

We are all different, it’s what makes us human, and utterly wonderful in our own way. This is what makes his writing so compelling to read. 

The adventures of his protagonists are meant to show us how the smallest actions and inconsequential words can have a dramatic effects on others. Just by being in the room, opening a door, smiling at a stranger, whistling a jolly tune or releasing a wasp from the confines of a double-glazed window, try it, it’s nice to be nice. 

On the flipside to all this optimism, there are those out to destroy, people who want to covet, to inflict pain and misery, just because they can. Unfortunately, there are too many of them out there, they are often hard to avoid, so sometimes, one has to run straight at them, swinging punches.

Rory has always believed one good deed deserves another and Karma is a bitch, if you think the same, you will enjoy reading his work. 

Rory lives in Lancashire with his wife Tammie and daughter Scarlett.