Kevin Morris has been hosted here many times over the past 2 years and I have been honoured with space on his blog as well. While you can read his other guest posts here, you should direct your attention to an Anthology to raise money for Guidedogs where you can find many short stories, including one of my own (don’t forget to donate!). Show some love!

Thank you to Anju for inviting me to write about the last five years of my life. Anyone who is still awake at the end of this post deserves a medal so, without further prevarication here goes!

The past five years have been extremely hectic. Holding down a full-time job, maintaining a blog, writing and publishing books have all kept me very busy.

I began writing in 2011-2012. To begin with I wrote purely for the pleasure of the thing. I had no idea that one day my books would grace the virtual shelves of those kind enough to download them. I am still in some senses a Luddite. Although all my books exist purely in electronic form there is, for me nothing like the feel of a beautifully produced book (especially of the hardback variety) and my dream is for my work to appear in traditional printed form, enclosed between the covers of a hard or paperback book. I am currently revising my collection of poetry and prose, “Dalliance” and hope that in addition to the eBook a good old fashioned paper edition will also be available for my readers to enjoy.

My first collection of short stories entitled “The First Time” first appeared on my blog and, in 2013 as an ebook. I continue to be moved by the generosity of fellow WordPress bloggers. There support has helped inspire me to keep writing. Thank you to everyone who has hosted me or in any way promoted my writing, I really do appreciate all your help!

The past 5 years saw the tragic death of my previous guide dog, Drew in March 2011. It was a normal day. I went into the office as usual and stopped off for a pint in my favourite local on the way home. Drew seemed fine however, during the night she began to pass blood and despite being rushed to the vet she sadly died due to a heart attack brought on by blood loss.

Following Drew’s death I was touched by the kind words of fellow bloggers, particularly by those who had also lost a much loved animal. To me Drew was much more than a guide dog. She was a close friend who helped me on a daily basis to live independently. I now have a lovely brindle lab/retriever called Trigger who I love to bits. No dog can ever substitute for a former much loved companion. My bond with Trigger is extremely close but no dog can replace a dearly departed friend. Each dog is special and possesses his or her own unique personality.

Thank you again to Anju for allowing me to lull you all to sleep with my ramblings. Sorry I mean to entertain you all with my pearls of wisdom!