// Manchester, England

Writer.
Engineer.
Storyteller.

I build things that work and write things that linger. By day, a Web Developer at NetZero building digital tools that help people reduce their carbon impact. By night, a fantasy and horror writer putting words into worlds.

Fantasy Fiction Development Lovecraftian Horror Linux & Cloud D&D 5e Design Site Reliability
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Writing

The stories I'm telling

In Progress
High Fantasy · Novel

Prince of Thieves

Subclasses & Character Options

A high fantasy novel currently in development.A tale of rebellion and redemption in a world where what is tue is chosen by those in power. In the principality of Norr, nothing is what it seems.

Chapters: 01 / 27
In Progress
High Fantasy · Novella

The Knight of Antlers

Long-form fiction

A high fantasy novella currently in development. A story of family, honor, and what it means to stand in defense of ideals more important than your own life.

Chapters: 08 / 17
Available Now
Lovecraftian Horror · Short Story

The Rise of the Sleeper

Short fiction · Cthulhu Mythos

A short story set within the Cthulhu mythos. Something ancient stirs beneath still water, and the people above it are beginning to dream the same dream.

Buy on Amazon
Read on Royal Road ↗ Follow @JoshTellsTales ↗
Engineering

What I build and maintain

I'm a Web Developer at NetZero working on high-visibility consumer platforms. My background spans SRE, software development, automation, and technical support — with a strong foundation in Linux, cloud infrastructure, and backend development.

// Languages & Tools
Linux Python Bash JavaScript PHP SQL HTML/CSS Terraform Git Docker
// Cloud & Infrastructure
AWS EC2 AWS Lambda S3 DynamoDB Unix
// Frameworks
Laravel VueJS AngularJS Handlebars
Mar 2026 — Present Manchester, UK
Web Developer
NetZero

Building and improving NetZero's web platform to make sustainable choices accessible and actionable. I work across frontend and backend code, optimize performance, and collaborate with product and design to deliver high-impact features that help people reduce their emissions.

Jan 2022 — Mar 2026 Manchester, UK
Platform Operations Engineer
Betfred

Working within a high-traffic production environment, I support the reliability and performance of Betfred’s digital platforms through monitoring, incident investigation, and data-driven analysis. I regularly work with metrics and logs to diagnose application-level issues such as latency, error rates, and service degradation, collaborating closely with development teams to identify root causes and implement fixes.

May 2022 — July 2024 Manchester, UK
Customer Service & Site Reliability Engineer
Mirrorweb

Managed a large fleet of Linux servers on AWS EC2, performing health checks and fixes via Unix/GNU utilities. Built an automated monitoring system in AWS Lambda using Python — it ran checks on live servers, generated Zendesk tickets prioritised by severity, and produced issue-type reports. Also wrote patch fixes for archived websites and authored crawl scripts to capture otherwise-missing live web content.

Jun 2021 — May 2022 Stockport
Software Developer
ShopBlocks

Built new features and internal tooling in PHP and Laravel to support a team developing complex ecommerce platforms. Worked extensively on API integrations between external partners and internal systems. Collaborated closely in a small, experienced team — both learning from and contributing knowledge to colleagues.

April 2018 — May 2021 Manchester, UK
2nd Line Technical Support Specialist
Connex One

Independent investigation and resolution of a wide variety of technical problems — database integrity issues requiring manual intervention, local network infrastructure faults, and software bugs requiring hotfixes. Regular Linux/Unix server maintenance and fixes for client-hosted environments.

About

Two sides of the same coin

I've spent the better part of a decade building and maintaining systems — from automated monitoring pipelines to high-traffic production platforms. I find the same satisfaction in a clean, well-reasoned piece of infrastructure as I do in a tightly written paragraph.

Outside of work, I write. High fantasy, Lovecraftian horror, D&D sourcebooks — stories and systems that let people inhabit worlds they couldn't otherwise reach. I've published on Amazon and Royal Road, and I'm currently mid-draft on two longer projects.

I'm also a Linux enthusiast, I enjoy tinkering with self-hosted tools, local AI, and anything that blurs the line between work and hobby.

Based in Manchester, England. Educated at University of Central Lancashire (BA, Games Design, 2013–2016), where I studied mechanics, level design, concept art, and development — a background that still shapes how I think about systems and narrative.

Contact

Get in touch

Whether you want to talk about a writing collaboration, a development project, or just want to discuss why the old ones are objectively more interesting than dragons — I'm reachable below.

// Writing & General j.montgomery045@live.co.uk
// Instagram @joshtellstales