As a teenager, the Teddy-Boy rage was, just to say, still apparent. They wore long Edwardian style jackets, drainpipe trousers, lace ties, very thick soled suede shoes and each had a DA (stands for Ducks Arse) hair style. Into the ascendant came the mods and rockers. Rockers wore lots of leather and rode motor bikes. I was a mod. Mods generally rode Vespa Scooters but I never did. I think I must have been a bit of a rocker because I wanted a motorbike but my Dad said no. Although I was not too happy at the time, looking back, I am really pleased he said no. Very dangerous!

As a mod I liked the very smart clothes. I just know I looked really good in my Italian style suit, Slim-Jim tie and winkle picker shoes. Noel Edmonds still wears them. You know the ones with the pointed toes and raised heels. I may one day get some myself.

I remember once being stopped by a policeman. He said, “Tell me sonny, do your toes go all the way to the end of those shoes?” I said “No officer. Does your head go all the way to the top of your helmet?” In those days the police wore tall pointy hats. Today there are more mobile policemen who wear flat caps.

Actually that was just a joke. In those days most youngsters had respect for people in authority, including parents. Most of us would never speak to people in that way, even if we thought it, even as a joke.

In my childhood I found a wonderful love, rather like the relationship between Fiona and Neil in my first story. Not the same story and not the same events but the relationship and love between them, was almost identical to ours. We were childhood sweethearts and I lost her to cancer. I was forty she was thirty eight. One day I may write my story.

I must be mad writing any story when I am really not qualified to do so. I have never taken any formal training as a writer and the only English test I ever took was at school and I failed it. If you have read the book you may already have guessed that :-)

To start with - I nevar waz goode at spellin...
Not counting professional help, I have relied on my computer spellchecker, and of course, friends and relations doing checks. If it wasn’t for them I would not even contemplate sending this to a proof reader, agent or a publisher unless I knew one that wanted a good laugh.  

PUBLISHED?...
If you have one of my books in your hands properly printed and bound, whether from a library, a bookshop, as a present, from a jumble sale or retrieved from someone’s skip,  you can at least be sure that I did find a publisher who liked it or decided to self publish. Although I say that I certainly have no plans to self publish at the moment. I may not make much, or any, money at all but I am certainly not in a position financially or of the mind set to spend money on it myself. Not because I do not think it is worth a gamble, on the contrary and despite my jokes, I have every faith in my stories. It’s just that, to put it bluntly, I am a pensioner and comparatively skint. 

If indeed any of my books get published I do hope you send me your comments. Tell me as much about the experience as you can, as well as obvious things, like how much you enjoyed it or otherwise. I would like to have feedback on things such as writing style. Were you happy when I spoke directly to you the reader? Were the paragraphs too long or perhaps too short? Did I use too many long words that ordinary people will not understand? More than likely, in my case, the words were probably not long, unusual, or sophisticated enough.

That last sentence has just stopped me in my tracks. After typing the word sophisticated, I was shocked to see that my spelling was correct! I am now wondering if my spellchecker is working properly. I hope I haven’t worn it out. Anyway back to the plot.

Was the story line fast moving? Was it ever boring? I think you know the sort of criticism I mean. I am sure my proof reader and publisher will also give me some guidance. That is if my story is good enough to get them passed the first page. I will only learn through criticism so bring it on. You can contact me via the contact us page, or leave a comment on the home page.