Jon Cocks
Jon Cocks taught secondary Drama and English for many years. He is a writer of fiction.
Angel of Aleppo: can Faith Survive the Armenian Genocide is his first full-length novel.
He has written countless cricket-related and political rants online, unpublished cartoon strips, a long list of credits in community theatre, a long-running TV ad, several one-act plays written for students and an unpublished novel set in the world of secondary teaching called Third Valley. Other than an enduring love affair with his Armenian-born wife Lilit, his son Jordan, daughter-in-law Faria and baby granddaughter Zaana, Jon loves books, theatre, movies, the Adelaide Crows, cricket, and wine.
Historical Fiction
Angel of Aleppo
Angel of Aleppo is a historical fiction about a young woman named Anoush, born and raised in Marash, Anatolia, who witnesses the brutal execution of her mother and is evicted along with the surviving other women and children, where she must learn to survive and protect her little sister while enduring the horrors of the brutal guards who drive them ever onward and the harshness of the land as they trek south towards Aleppo. In addition, she is pursued by the local warlord for her beauty - he wants her for his harem - so she must evade him and maintain the standard of faith and goodness demonstrated to her by her strict but beloved mother. Anoush endures many trials, learns to nurse, becomes known as the 'Angel' for her work amongst the oppressed and starving masses in Aleppo, and while she is sorely tested, she never gives up her faith, allows herself to hope for a better future, and comes to appreciate that love can be shared and can endure all things.
