He is the author of the Captain Cockle series of children's books (see:www.cockle.com)featuring retired submarine commander, scientist and inventor Captain Horatio Nelson Cockle and his wife Catherine. He is currently employed by the Irish Marine Institute in Dublin, where he lives with his wife Jane and their children Jenny, William and Jessie. "Virtually Maria" is his first published adult novel, and first in the "Virtual Trilogy" featuring the adventures of billionaire genius Dr Theo Gilkrensky. AUTHCOMMENTS; In writing Virtually Maria I wanted to create the ultimate romantic adventure, featuring one man's quest for lost love using all the money and technology at his disposal. I firmly believe that any writer of this genre is in the entertainment business, and that it is my business to give value for money in terms of excitement, romance, intrigue and a realistic virtual world for the reader to lose themselves in while they are with me. To this end, I have built an exciting and colourful background of lost love, high finance, computer technology and mystical forces for the reader to enjoy, as well as a host of characters, including the incredible Minerva 3,000 computerwho becomes a main player in the action in its own right. My researches took me to Ireland, London, Cairo and Tokyo, and into the worlds of corporate finance, Japanese martial arts, Muslim Fundamentalism, aircraft, weaponry and a whole universe of New Age theories concerning the purpose behind the Great Pyramid. This is the first of three books in the "Virtual Trilogy" - a sweeping love affair between Theo and Maria, against the backdrop of jealousy, revenge and intrigue. I hope it will appeal to anyone with a romantic bone in their body, to lovers of high-tech mysteries, people with a thirst for travel, and those who simply love a "good yarn." Virtually Maria has already received a good reception here in Ireland, where it wasalready received a good reception here in Ireland, where it was published in August 1998. During that month, it was selected as "Book of the Month" by the prestigious Easons book chain, across their twenty six stores in the Republic and the North. You can contact him on the Web at john.joyce@marine.ie