My Books

Cycling In Vietnam

Ever wanted to cycle in a foreign country? Take your mountain bike along a tropical beach or through a high mountain pass?

Well, join Dave and friends as his organised tour doesn’t go exactly to plan. Beginning their adventure in Saigon, Vietnam, the idea is to have a nice, relaxing trip through one of the friendliest countries in Southeast Asia, enjoying its rich cultural heritage and amazing food.

Not normally one to write about his holidays, Dave couldn’t let this one go without a few words. Join him on a journey of discovery that would tip many of us over the edge. Will you get flashbacks to Vietnam after reading this book, or will you too, want to venture there?

Wooden Spoon

There's Always Next Year!

For Ianto Williams—and the whole of Wales—rugby isn’t just a game. It’s life or death.

But as Wales face the grim prospect of a Six Nations wooden spoon, Ianto finds himself battling more than just the opposition. Struggling to reclaim past glories in a world he barely recognises.

From the streets of Paris to the pubs of Cardiff, from pizza-fueled failures to stolen stashes of Viagra, Ianto stumbles through a comedy of misfires, mishaps, and humiliations.

As the losses pile up—on and off the pitch—he’s forced to face more than just the scoreboard. A raucous, bittersweet tale of rugby, camaraderie and the highs and lows of modern manhood.

Wooden Spoon is a hilarious and unflinching look at love, sport, and the desperate lengths one man will go to walk the fragile line between triumph and disaster.

Cycling King Alfred's Way

Dave’s fourth cycling adventure takes us on a journey through ancient Wessex. Home of King Alfred, Stonehenge and the Avebury stone circles. Another great amateur cycling trip through Wiltshire, Hampshire, Surrey and Berkshire. Using mountain bikes this time, Dave, Warren and Andy spend a week in the south-east of England where they cycle along The Ridgeway, the South Downs Way and other routes.

This ‘boys on tour‘ journey comes alive with witty comments, strange references and excellent photographs.

If you’re thinking of doing a similar ride then this account will set the scene and also highlight the pitfalls of a lack of planning, reliance on technology and disregard for the changeable British weather.

Algorithm

A collection of poetry that highlights many of the problems facing humanity in the world today and the dystopian direction society is sleepwalking towards.

These are poems about artificial intelligence, childhood, death, nature, Welsh independence, culture, race, immigration, travel and love.

“Lewis does not take a side but instead immerses us in a subject. He is a keen observer who can effortlessly dissect uncomfortable truths and never shies away from the more challenging issues of the day.” – R James

Africa Poems

For almost fifty years Welsh writer Dave Lewis has been fascinated with Africa: the land, the people and its wildlife.

Throughout his writing, there have always been references to the great continent and so here together in one volume is a small ‘Selected Works’ of his poetry with an African influence, taken from his first eight collections.

In addition, there is one short story and a handful of original black-and-white artworks created from his many photographs. African proverbs complete the package.

Praise for Lewis’s work:

“Wide-ranging poetry that covers love, landscape and nature. Tender moments, rich, colourful insights and snapshots of a particular time and place jostle with the political and social. A spiritual take on the charisma of Africa by a passionate Welshman whose love for the continent is without question.” – Andrew Davies

Mixed Messages

Split into three parts with black-and-white photographs (paperback), colour (Kindle version) to illustrate some of the themes/poems.

Review:

“This new collection’s voices are wonderfully varied, powerful and haunting. Divided into three sections, Lewis touches on a number of diverse themes; anti-racism, Africa and austerity, to name just a few, before finally leading us back to the all-encompassing wrapper of the natural world.

"The poems in Mixed Messages will provide an uncomfortable social document for some readers but will become an anchor of a particular time and place for others. There is such maturity here that sometimes we feel that the poet is only brushing lightly across the surface and could, if he wanted to, tell us so much more.

"Lewis offers us detailed observation, confession and brutal honesty in equal measure. Once again, here is a well-thought-out cultural statement about this crazy world we all inhabit.” – Mark Davies

The Welsh Man

An authentic British road trip and old-fashioned love story.

A violent but compelling tale of grim landscapes and dark morality.

Paul Thorne is no angel. A hard man with a troubled past, his mistake was to fall for the wrong girl. When he said yes to love, he opened the door to death.

A tragic accident finds him running for his life from a vicious London crime boss. He seeks sanctuary in a sleepy, Welsh seaside town but instead of solace, he finds jealousy and betrayal.

A brutal journey through the underbelly of 80s and 90s Britain. Violent and sad. Powerful, beautiful prose lingers like a bruise, haunting the mind, long after the last page is read.

Scratching The Surface

“The poems are sharp, clear, and confident. He has a clarity only a real poet possesses.” – Brian Patten

Following on from ‘Going Off Grid‘ I’ve returned to themes I’m comfortable with, namely nature, love and family but have also tried to slide a few left-field observations in too.

As well as some very personal pieces I’ve also tried to write a contemporary collection that pushes the door open on some of today’s accepted myths. In my view, poets should constantly question authority and not blindly give in to the mainstream, politically correct narrative. I’m often very worried about the negative direction the western world is taking and feel someone needs to speak up on behalf of the voiceless masses as loud and championed minorities take over.

Hadrian's Cycleway &
Coast 2 Coast

After the success of the ‘Wales Trails‘ project: the ride, the money raised for charity, the website and the book, I knew it wouldn’t be long before I got the cycling bug again and thought up a new ride/challenge. Unfortunately, age and aching limbs have a habit of creeping up on you, and so it had been three years since the last big trip before I managed to put something else together.

The Hadrian’s Cycleway is a relatively new route, following the famous Roman wall from west to east across the north of England. The C2C trail is a far more well-known ride, and some sources say it is the most popular cycling challenge in the UK.

I decided to combine the two trails and do a circle.

Never Seventeen

As I mention in the introduction to my first collection I have always found the habit of forcing a feeling or the capturing of something special into three short lines and seventeen syllables rather silly. And so just like my first effort I hope that none of these poems fit this rigid and unhelpful pattern. To be honest though I haven’t checked.

More experienced and intuitive readers might also think that many of my own so-called haiku are no such thing at all, and that is fine. I’m certainly not going to argue.

This book simply hopes to capture those numerous fleeting moments, mostly my observations of nature, and quite often human nature, that I have been fortunate to experience. I hope you enjoy them.

Going Off Grid

My first degree was in zoology and I’ve always felt an attraction to the natural world but since re-training as a software engineer back in the mid-90s I’ve found myself, and many others around me, move away from what I feel is really important while slowly adopting a dependence on technology and its negative influence on our sanity.

I have tried to write a modern collection that focuses on digital capitalism, the negative influence of big tech and our addiction to data. I’m deeply concerned with the negative direction mankind is taking and feel we all need to steer ourselves back to a far simpler, happier place in the far more important offline world. Death and depression, as well as love and nature, are also ever-present themes in this collection and I’ve also tried to package the message up by including some very subtle, yet haunting, photographs.

“An epic tour de force of modern poetry. The opening poem, (Diet), is reminiscent of T. S. Eliot’s ‘The Waste Land’ and this author’s ‘Roadkill’, but this time focuses on digital capitalism. Lewis is primarily concerned with the madness and addiction pervading our online worlds while we neglect the more important offline. The title is a hope rather than a statement.” – Andrew Davies

Happy

Suffering from mild depression, having worked at over 20+ jobs during the last 30 years, having recently been made redundant in a jobs-void south Wales and now trying to survive on my wits I thought now was the perfect time to write a book I’ve been meaning to write for many years.

If I can manage to be ‘happy’, given my current precarious condition, then this book might be just the ticket for other stressed-out, frazzled, mid-life crisis Britons wondering why the world is turning so fast and will I ever get back on the ride. As a particularly eloquent friend of mine (in a similar situation) once put it – ‘What the fuck is going on with my life?’

Wales Trails

In the UK at the moment, there are numerous long-distance rides that a keen cyclist can do, and the most famous of these is the Land’s End to John o’ Groats End to End challenge that typically takes over 900 miles through England and Scotland. A cruel trick of geography means Wales is usually bypassed by most riders who undertake this journey.

So, back in 2016, I decided to try and fix this. I set up a website and determined to put Wales firmly on the world cycling map I cycled 688 miles around the coastline of much of the country. To encourage other bikers to do the same, I wrote a book about my trip and contacted over a hundred cycling organisations, tourism sites, councils, shops, cafes, pubs, B&Bs etc. and asked them to try and promote the ride. I also raised money for Prostate Cancer UK.

My dad suffered from prostate cancer but beat it. So as a tribute to him, and the many other people who successfully triumph over this type of cancer, I thought I’d test my own over a gruelling two-week circuit of the Principality. In addition, I also hoped to inspire others to repeat the course and help me turn this haphazard ‘loop’ of Wales into a world-famous iconic ride just like Land’s End to John o’ Groats.

After completing the ride, in Wales’s Year of Adventure, I sent a press release out to the Welsh Assembly Government, Welsh Tourist Board, Sustrans, BBC Wales, Western Mail, SW Echo, SW Argus, SW Evening Post, Ponty Observer, cycling forums, bike shops, etc. It was also heavily promoted on Facebook, Twitter, the infamous Pontypridd Forum and many other online resources.

Reclaiming The Beat

A journey through time and space, through heartache and depression, where glimpses of hope shine through the grey veil. The original idea was to split the book into two halves: the darkness first, followed by the light second. The sad, lonely, depressing half and the happy, uplifting half. I discovered things don’t always go to plan!

A friend described these poems as – ‘This collection is a deeply moving, all-seeing observation of modern life, and if we are brave enough to stay on the ride we are ultimately rewarded with a positive rebirth like a phoenix rising from the ashes of despair.’ I decided that was good enough, even though at the time I was concerned the negative vibe might be too much to handle.

Many of the poems were written at a time when I’d just been made redundant from a job I loved, was stuck in a new job I hated and my mental health wasn’t in the best of places to say the least!

The title is taken from famous American writer Jack Kerouac’s definition of the ‘beat generation’ and a quote from his girlfriend Joyce Johnson, who said he described ‘beats’ as ‘the poor, the pure and the inward’. I identified with this so much and started to see myself as my father, who’d worked hard all his life to provide for his family only to be rewarded with ill health and an early death.

Land's End to John O'Groats

Back in 2005, my friend Derek and I decided we needed a challenge and so what better than a little bike ride around the countryside. Read on…

‘When you’re nearly forty years old, just recovering from glandular fever and double pneumonia, what better way to celebrate your wedding than to leave your wife behind to cycle the length of Britain? An account of two friends who got drunk one night and decided to pedal nearly 1000 miles for charity, proving that you don’t need a state-of-the-art road bike, a skin-tight outfit with a TV sponsor written on the front or a made-to-measure ego – you just need a good mate, a beer mat’s worth of planning, no training whatsoever and the will to do it.’

More than just another cycling trip, this e-book is a funny and sometimes moving account of a few weeks in the summer of 2005 when, coupled with various personal events, life takes on a new and different perspective.

iCommand

H4gar is coming home.
The lives of Hal and Jenny are turned upside down when a deadly serial killer returns to Cardiff.

Someone wants the truth.
Struggling with love, despair and belonging the cyber-slayer desperately tries to uncover the meaning of existence.

Someone wants revenge.
From the vibrant capital city to the urban decay of the industrial Welsh heartland, a battle will rage that will push everyone to their limits.

A moving and exciting finale to Ctrl-Alt-Delete and Raising Skinny Elephants.

“The final confrontation doesn’t disappoint. Yet another tour-de-force from Lewis as we find out what drives a psycho-killer from the hinterland of the south Wales valleys. A fitting end to a great trilogy, although I do wonder if these awesome characters can be revived for yet another outing? Watch this space I suppose.” – Aled Jones, BBC Wales.

Roadkill

The idea for the title poem was conceived over thirty years ago and took over a year of writing and editing to finally get down on paper! The rest of the work has been divided into three sections and also spans a number of years’ work. Published in October 2013 it's the book I was most proud of at the time, as I felt I’d finally found my true voice. I was unafraid to say what I felt in a way I was comfortable with.

This is a collection of contemporary poetry dealing with class war, love, depression, nature and death set against a backdrop of overwhelming, negative computer technology. (Re-published in August 2025.)

‘Alive, daring, challenging and thoroughly modern. A primal scream of passionate despair, a rant at injustice and a socially aware commentary on our lives today. Once again we experience Lewis’ keen eye for the world around us. Emotion pours out of every line. Intense, confessional, observational, tender. A writer who is not afraid; this is a great book of poetry in a world of shallow pretenders.’ – Mark Davies

Raising Skinny Elephants

The second book in the H4gar series is set in Kenya and various locations around the UK, including south Wales.

Hal Griffiths is in Kenya taking photographs for National Geographic magazine, but cyber slayer Hagar is there too and wants revenge. As the grid begins to close around the serial killer, there is another twist in the tail. From the bars of Nairobi to the shoreline of Lake Naivasha and the stunning vista of the Great Rift Valley, Hal must once again fight for his life.

A first-rate sequel to Ctrl-Alt-Delete. Fast action, graphic violence, black comedy and drug-crazed sex – what more could a reader want!

Haiku

It should be noted that many of the ‘haiku’ in this collection would not be termed such by many more academic observers. I certainly knew and appreciated this at the time but was, perhaps selfishly, more concerned with just simple self-expression. Especially as my wonderful little dog Sandy had just passed away. This collection not only helped me discover a new voice but was also extremely demanding to write. I decided that I loved ‘haiku’ because it gave me a means of recording the deepest of feelings in the simplest way. I knew that I would return to it again in a later book, and perhaps even attempt to create a more unacceptable version of the form.

‘Dave Lewis is a unique voice in the poetry world. His new collection is filled with a range of vivid, often quirky, word pictures. He is adept at making every word count. Despite its brevity, the haiku is anything but an easy option – at its best, this short and fairly formal poem should make the reader look anew at an everyday event. This Dave does to perfection, for example, “Chain gangs of electricity/on the green mountain/armies marching”. His haiku don’t always conform to the traditional 5,7,5 syllable format – he goes his own original way, as in a favourite of mine, “Consultant’s waiting room/the plant in the window/dead”… who else would have the temerity to finish on that single-beat word, dead? His thought-provoking images have some surprising last lines that take your breath away and will remain with the reader for a long time.’ – Moira Andrew

Ctrl-Alt-Delete

When beautiful Jenny Morris uses Facebook to get her ex-boyfriend Hal Griffiths to stalk her, she has no idea what a dangerous game she is playing – for someone else is watching from the murky shadows of cyberspace.

And when a horrific murder in a sleepy Welsh village stirs a seasoned reporter, a conceited detective and an overweight IT expert into action, they too always seem to be one step behind the mysterious killer – Hagar.

Against the backdrop of a tangled web of deviant sexual practices, Hal must rescue his lover before the killer strikes again. In the wilds of the Brecon Beacons National Park, an electrifying climax is played out when Hal is forced to confront his deadly rival.

Social and political commentary within a close-knit community has never been so honest. Pornography morphs into technology and we are forced to ask ourselves the question – will man’s lust for instant gratification ultimately be his undoing?

A full-throttle thriller effortlessly blending violence, eroticism and suspense, Ctrl-Alt-Delete is both a modern love story and a prophetic tale of intrigue in our ever-distracting, machine-driven world. A truly gripping debut novel.

Sawing Fallen Logs For
Ladybird Houses

Many of the poems should be read in conjunction with photographs taken during the writing of the book. The idea was to document a time and a place within Wales by using poetry and photography.

‘From the first eponymously titled poem, we realise that Dave Lewis’s work possesses an energy and freshness that lifts his imagery and empathy way above the work of many less ambitious poets.

"The element of surprise in each poem is even more startling coming as it does from such uncluttered writing. Last lines are an example, while phrases such as ‘trees as tall as ships’, ‘a severe lack of hares’, ‘the brittle grass of misunderstanding…’ will surely enhance the readers’ own perceptions of the world around them.

"This collection’s structure works well under its five separate headings, and the diverse forms used in several poems add visual variety. Sawing Fallen Logs For Ladybird Houses is a wonderful read. Buy it!" – Sally Spedding

Urban Birdsong

Urban Birdsong contains three short stories, brief prose and poetry. Published in May 2010, the short story ‘Onions’ (the first short story I ever wrote) won a runner-up award in the Rhys Davies Trust’s Short Story Competition.

Judges adjudication:

"…the world of Onions is an enclosed one; specifically, a valleys curry-house on the weekend, in which we witness the clash of several disparate cultures, all of which the writer powerfully evokes with the briefest of sketches. The epiphanic moment at the story’s close is expertly done: the headlights of a passing car beam into the restaurant, and ‘the people were lit up, momentarily, clear as diamonds [and] Mohammed could see for the first time in his life’. A remarkably controlled piece of work."

Judges: Niall Griffiths & Stevie Davies

Layer Cake

After many years of writing poetry, a few magazine submissions with positive feedback and many more rejection slips from publishers, I decided to enrol in a local creative writing class in Clwb-y-Bont, Pontypridd. After encouragement from the tutor, I decided to self-publish this collection to see what would happen.

‘Layer Cake’ was my first book, with half the poems coming from my old stuff, and the other half from the new. The poems in this initial collection spanned twenty-four years, and the subject matter was quite varied.

Published in March 2009, the book was well received, sold a few copies and earned great praise from several well-respected writers. I’ve edited the poems slightly but certainly not rewritten. Although simple in their construction, I feel there is a lot in there the deeper you dig.

Complete List

Below is a list of some publications, books, magazines, anthologies, etc.

Books:

Layer Cake © 2009
Urban Birdsong © 2010
Sawing Fallen Logs For Ladybird Houses © 2011
Welsh Poetry Competition Anthology © 2011
Ctrl-Alt-Delete © 2011
Haiku © 2012
Raising Skinny Elephants © 2013
Roadkill © 2013
Photography Composition © 2014
iCommand © 2015
Land's End to John o' Groats © 2015
Reclaiming the Beat © 2016
Wales Trails © 2016
Welsh Poetry Competition Anthology II © 2016
Happy © 2017
Basic Photoshop © 2017
Going Off Grid © 2018
Never Seventeen © 2018
Hadrian’s Cycleway & C2C © 2019
Scratching The Surface © 2019
The Welsh Man © 2020
Anonymous Bosch © 2020*
Mixed Messages © 2021
Welsh Poetry Competition Anthology III © 2021
Africa Poems © 2022
Algorithm © 2023
Cycling King Alfred’s Way © 2024
Wooden Spoon © 2025
Cycling In Vietnam © 2026
Welsh Poetry Competition Anthology IV © 2026

*Images for Mike Jenkins poetry book

Anthologies:

'Getting Up' - Rhys Davies Short Story Competition, 2010
Correnti Incrociate 2 - John Eliot’s ‘Salerno Project’, 2022
‘Ecstasy & Grief’ - Josh Brown (Portsmouth Poetry), 2023
'A Dictionary of Light' - Rhys Davies Short Story Competition, 2024

Magazines/webzines:

Bylines.Cymru | Poem: Ain’t Got No Cymru
Little Leaf Literary Journal | Two poems: Sunday Morning, Near Tintern Abbey
Golem Green Magazine | Poems: October 7, girl in the back of a truck (Issue 2)
The Seventh Quarry | Poems: House Martins, Bay Day (Issue 25/Feb 2017) Poems: Elephant, Bandi
Verbal Art (Indian magazine) | Poems: Your colour was love (Vol 9, Issue 1)
Poems: Morning Sue, Hope (Vol. 8, Issue 2) Poems: Boats, Africa (Vol 8, Issue 1)
Apricot Press | Poem: shapeshifter
The Journal | Poem: The mudcrawlers (Issue 67 /77, Nov 2022) Poems: Human Nature, Over weekend washed cobbles (Issue 50, Spring 2017) Poem: Sirhowy
WordCity Lit | Poem: Every room is another room
The Red Fern | Poem: Goshawk
Africa Dreams | Poems: Etosha to Okavango, Cabinda
SW Evening Post | #haiku
Red Poets | Poems: From Ponty to Port Elizabeth, Sabi, The Phoenix Capsule, My Hometown, Bike in the River Taff (plus images from SFL), Flatmates, Hard, Socially Distanced God, Ain’t Got No Cymru, Lorca
Magazine covers: #16, #20 and #27
Dreich Magazine | Issue: ‘Home’ / 4 photographs to accompany Mike Jenkins’s poems
Culture Matters | Poem: Pandemic
Onward/Ymlaen | Poem: Albert & Ernie, appears in ‘Onward/Ymlaen’ an anthology of radical poetry from contemporary Wales, edited by Mike Jenkins
Frogpond Journal | haiku in 42.4 issue
Americymru | Interview with Ceri Shaw about my writing career and new book (2019) Interview about the release of my first crime thriller (2011)
Modern Haiku | haiku in 51:1 issue
Nine Muses Poetry | Poems: ‘River Wye Weekend’, ‘Pills’ (Jan 2020)
Under the Basho | haiku in ‘Under The Basho’ 2019
Hedgerow Haiku | haiku in #127 issue
Active Muse (Commonwealth Writers) | Poems: Eve at Rest Bay, Embrace the space between, Nominated for ‘Best of the Net 2018 – 2019’
British Haiku Journal | haiku in #August issue
Wales Haiku Journal | Two haiku in #Spring 2018
Chapel FM Radio Writing On Air | Poems: Marrakech, Square
Poetry Super Highway | Featured Poet of the Week (March 6-12, 2017) Poem: R.I.P. John Thomas
‘Between These Shores‘ Literary and Arts Annual (Autumn 2017) | Poem: October Again
The Dawntreader (part of Indigo Dreams Publishing) | Poems: My Town, October Again, plus 3 haiku
Celtic Life International | Review: Wales Trails (Nov/Dec 2016) Following in the footsteps of George Clooney, Ewan McGregor and Catherine Zeta-Jones, the April 2016, website edition, of this quality Canadian magazine sees a great article on Dave and the Welsh Poetry Competition. (March/April 2014)
Dream Catcher | Review: Roadkill by Gillian Drake (in Issue 32)
Roundyhouse Magazine | Review: Sawing Fallen Logs For Ladybird Houses by Agnes Meadows (in Issue 44) Poems: Lion is 50 Bob, By-Pass, RIP John Thomas
Chrysanthemum | haiku in issue #17 & #24
English Chicago Review | Poem: Terrace (in Issue 4)
Prole, Poetry and Prose | Poem: Heard Yesterday (in Issue 11)
Volume Magazine | Poem: Terminal (in Vol 10)
Morgen Bailey Blog | Poems: Hospital bed, Llangors
The Heron’s Nest | haiku in #December issue
HQ Poetry Magazine | Poem: Sunday Morning, two haiku in #39 & #40
Shamrock | (Irish Haiku Society Journal) two haiku in #19
Presence | haiku in #45
Gold Dust Magazine | Poem: Green Grass (Issue 31); Poems: Like Pitta Bread, October Again (Issue 30) Poem: Girl from Albany Road Review: Sawing Fallen Logs For Ladybird Houses
BottleRockets | haiku in #12
Ink, Sweat & Tears | Poems: Bobby, Merthyr Bus Stop, Quite early one morning
Ctrl+Alt+Del | Poems: Kris cross, Human Nature, Death in Fiji
Monkey Kettle | Poem: Toothless
Bolts of Silk | Poems: Over weekend washed cobbles, a Penguin in Cardiff
Origami Condom | Poem: With a Yes and a No
The Beat | Poem: Skip a Beat
Read This Magazine | Poems: Grinding Down, Afternoon Shift
Gloom Cupboard | Poems: A Kenyan Accident, 41 Ladysmith Rd
Inclement magazine | Poems: Grab, Rev Jones returns home early from Fiji, Bundle
Spark Bright | Poem: Africa
Treeblog | Poem: Hope
Square magazine/Pure Poetry | Poems: A Kenyan Accident, Bobby, With a Yes and a No, 41 Ladysmith Rd, Fragment, Now and Then Prose: Global Warning
Bottom of the World | Poems: Boats, Miners Dog, Glazed Olives, Human Nature
Poetry Scotland/Open Mouse | Poems: Wordsworth in 2006, Boats
BBC Sport | Column on regional rugby fiasco
Buzzle.com | Pontypridd pubs review
Great Writing Magazine | A few poems online here
Tontine Student Newspaper (University of Edinburgh) | Poems: 41 Ladysmith Rd, Afternoon Shift
New Magazine (African Dreams) | Poem: A Kenyan Accident
Never Bury Poetry | Poem: Bobby
Pontypridd Observer | Former columnist
BBC Scrum V | Former web producer/online journalist
Rivals.net | Former blogger/rugby writer

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