BOOKS
I came to creative writing at an extremely young age; my first 'book', Lambkin and the Men with Guns, was influenced perhaps by President Kennedy’s assassination! It was followed by a series of books that chronicled the adventures of my favourite toy, a little rubber kiwi (a present from my grandparents in New Zealand) and his friends!
I originally planned to write a book about my experiences ‘on the road’, but decided that some of them were so incredible that no-one would believe them. Some real-life incidents, however, have found their way into A Coach Load of Chaos.
Many scenes in this book take place in Kent.
A COACH LOAD OF CHAOS
William told the passengers to look out for the different styles of architecture in the Cathedral. The first two bays of the nave had round-headed arches and had been built by the Normans.
“Gee! We have them in the States, you know, at Salt Lake City,” Mr Murray remarked to his wife.
“Honey, I think those are ‘Mormons’. He said ‘Normans’.”
William Simpson has everything he wants in life except a girlfriend. He loves his job, taking holidaymakers on coach tours of France, but he has never forgotten his unhappy schooldays and the bullies, prefects and teachers who made his teenage years a misery.
One day his boss offers him ten complimentary places on his next coach tour. Rather than take his friends or family, William decides to look up his old enemies, and then invites them on a free holiday that none of them will ever forget. Remembering their personalities, interests and foibles, William is determined to get his revenge in a very special way!
At the same time our hero has to look after a motley group of real holidaymakers from all over the world, maintain the Entente Cordiale in his dealings with French hoteliers and waitresses, save his coach driver’s shaky marriage and find out if he really is falling in love with his boss’s vintage-bus-mad secretary - or she with him?
As Tour F443/07 wends its way around the byways of rural France, William wonders whether any of his victims will recognise him, and whether they will make it back home! While his passengers get tanked up on vin ordinaire, he discovers new uses for a Norwegian Tourist Board video and an old halfpenny.
A story about romance, money, revenge, chocolate, cheap wine, bad coffee and an AEC Regent V with Park Royal bodywork…
If you are interested in buying the book, please click here!
SINGLE TRACK OBSESSION
A book about some of my favourite railway journeys. Many of the chapters have been adapted from e-mails sent to various friends over the last few years; the recipients kept saying "You ought to write a book!"
This is not intended to be a book about the technical aspects of railway construction or operation, and it will not contain long lists of engine numbers! It will take you around the world on a variety of different railway lines, some famous, others not so well known, introducing you to amazing scenery and fascinating people. You can read how I drove a train in France, lost my luggage in Paraguay and bought the last return tube ticket from North Weald to Ongar.
If you are interested in buying the book, please click on the link below!