Meet The Authors: Interview with Author Kevin B. Forbes
In 2025, Master and Man Books released 2nd edition of Kevin’s book, The Life, The Times and The Adventures of Kevin Forbes, bringing renewed attention to his remarkable story. In this interview, I spoke with Kevin about the journey behind the book — from the inspiration that sparked it to the lessons learnt along the way. His story is inspiring for any writer, especially if you are considering writing and publishing a legacy book of your own.
TFS: Please introduce yourself.
Kevin: I am Kevin Forbes, 71 years of age and feel privileged to have lived a full and varied life — both in academic environments and in what I call “the university of life and people.”
I enjoyed a wonderful childhood in the years following the Second World War, supported by an education that shaped who I became in an ever-changing world.
My younger years were filled with sport, music and strong friendships, followed by a career in industry across both medium-sized businesses and large corporations, taking me all over the UK and Europe.
TFS: Tell us about your book and its genre?
Kevin: The book is a personal autobiography, capturing my life journey from childhood to the present day. It began as a way to record my story — our story — while I still could, and it now also serves as a tribute to my late wife Carol.
TFS: When did you begin writing it?
Kevin: I began writing in 2015, after being diagnosed with kidney cancer. That diagnosis changed my perspective on time — life suddenly felt less in my control. I wrote most of the book between 2015 and 2020, but further serious health issues, including heart attacks, slowed my progress.
In 2023 I committed to completing it for my wife. Tragically, she passed away unexpectedly due to medical neglect only weeks before I finished. Our dream that she would see the final pages was taken — but the book is now part of her legacy as much as mine.
TFS: What inspired you to write?
Kevin: Carol was a wonderful woman and a devoted reader — she had her own treasured bookcases at home. Because we both came to each other later in life after earlier marriages, we had no children, and Carol expressed her wish to have one of my books on her shelves — a piece of our life that would remain.
That wish became my purpose. This book is the legacy we leave in place of children — proof of our journey, our love and our time together.
TFS: Why do you believe legacy writing is important?
Kevin: Every single life holds a story — yet most people don’t believe theirs matters. But the older I’ve become, the more I’ve seen that we all share the same experiences of joy, disappointment, achievement, loss and growth.
A legacy book allows you to pass on wisdom, perspective and truth — not fame or celebrity, but real human experience. When shared honestly, our stories help others better understand themselves and the world.
TFS: How did you decide to publish?
Kevin: Initially I wrote for my wife and a small circle of family and friends. After her passing, the book evolved to include her story as well — and the audience naturally widened.
There are many services offering help to writers, but the key is to be clear about what you want and ensure their support enhances your voice rather than dilutes it. I’ve seen many books that look identical in structure and style, and I didn’t want that.
I chose to work with Alan and Tamara Forrest-Smith because they offered personal, independent and highly responsive support. They explained everything clearly and ensured the final work remained true to my voice and intention.
TFS: What lessons did you learn through the process?
Kevin: Have a clear understanding of your purpose and your audience.
Be aware of costs, publishing platforms, and even practical matters like tax registration if you plan to sell your book.
Maintain open communication with anyone supporting you, agree expectations and deadlines, and protect the integrity of your story — do not hand control of your voice to others.
TFS: What happened after publication?
Kevin: Seeing the finished book was profoundly emotional — especially knowing it now includes Carol’s biography too. We have already completed two print runs. Feedback has been deeply moving, from both people we know and complete strangers who felt connected to our journey and touched by its honesty.
Key milestones include:
Registration with the British Library and other libraries
Display and sales at the Harlow Museum
A very positive reviews in the Essex Guardian and Harlow Local by an accomplished and award-winning journalist.
Interest and requests from readers in seven countries
Reconnecting with old friends and receiving unexpected recognition locally
Many readers have described it as a beautiful tribute — and in many ways, an epitaph to my beloved wife.
TFS: Will you write more?
Kevin: Absolutely. This process has shown me that writing is a meaningful discipline at this stage of life. The loss of my wife brought me to my knees, but writing has given me a constructive way to honour her and to live forward with purpose.
I am now working on a book exploring how men cope with grief, self-belief and rebuilding life. I am also considering works titled Living in a Village and The Final Adventures of Kevin B. Forbes.
TFS: Why leave a written legacy?
Kevin: In 1965, I was an eleven-year-old boy, stepping nervously into my first day at secondary school — the “big school,” as we all called it. My very first lesson that morning was English. I must have been unusually receptive that day, because at the end of outlining our year ahead, the teacher paused, looked around the room, and said something that settled deeply in me:
“There is nothing stronger in life than the written word.”
That sentence never left me.
For thousands of years, human progress has depended on communication — on our ability not just to speak, but to record, preserve, and pass on knowledge. From cave paintings and early symbols scratched into stone, to religious scrolls, to manuscripts, letters, books, and official documents — every era has relied on its own method of recording life.
But history also shows that mediums change, decay, or disappear. Clay tablets crumble. Parchment burns. Tapes deteriorate. Even early digital storage is now unreadable. As technology accelerates, we rely more and more on digital systems — systems that can fail, be erased, become incompatible, or be controlled by others.
I spent over forty years at senior levels within the IT world. I watched the shift — from paper archives to electronic files, to cloud storage, to artificial intelligence capable not just of storing information, but inventing it. “Artificial intelligence” literally means manufactured intelligence — not always truth, but simulation.
Technology evolves, and inevitably technology is replaced. With each shift, vast amounts of information risk being lost, corrupted, or selectively preserved. Even governments now seek to centralise data, and while that may sound efficient, history warns us that centralised control of information often leads to loss rather than preservation.
So I ask
When digital systems change or fail — where will the record of our lives truly exist?
Archaeologists and historians rely on what survives physically — the written traces of human life and thought. Great civilisations are remembered because someone carved, inked, or etched their experience into something tangible and lasting.
When I was eleven, a teacher told me the world needs written words. Every decade since has proven her right. If we rely solely on digital memory, we risk losing not just data, but identity, culture, and truth.
This is why I believe we must write books.
To preserve knowledge. To protect our stories.
To ensure that who we were — and what we learned — does not vanish when the lights of the modern age flicker or change.
The written word is not just communication — it is civilisation’s memory.
To write is to say, “We were here. We lived. We mattered.”
Kevin B Forbes
Interveiwed by Tamara Forrest-Smith
Read more about Kevin’s book here.
For enquiries, please contact us here.
