"I have come to believe that a great teacher is a great artist and that there are as few as there are any other great artists.
​
John Steinbeck
Heading 1
They say you always remember your first; well this is it. It's dedicated to the students of Haslingden High School who helped me write it every Wednesday morning. Those lessons were the most rewarding I can remember in almost forty years of teaching.
​
Each week I read them the chapter I'd written the night before. They passed judgement and discussed what they thought/hoped would happen next.
This is the result.
This is my blockbusting non-seller. It exists as a movie script and is readily adaptable to a couple of TV series in case any Netflix agents stumble in.
​
In the year of my birth, the Allies launched Operation Torch in North Africa. My story moves on from there, detailing the American camps full of hard-line Nazis and an unlikely love story that flourished behind the barbed wire.
​
And there were the escapes; over one hundred a day. This is the story of the only escapee unaccounted for according to authentic military records.
And so I sought my Place in the Sun. Moving to Thailand from the Rossendale Valley was not easy. Sunshine EVERY day was a hardship which took years to overcome.
​
I entered a short story competition in a local magazine and WON! The 1000 baht was the first instalment of my career as a professional writer.
​
My stories became a regular monthly feature of The Pattaya Trader. Initially the main characters were all about foreigners in Thailand. As I became more confident I moved into Thai and foreign relationships.
​
Sixty stories later I had my third book.
​
'Amazing Thailand' was the catchphrase used to attract tourists to holiday here. There was a different side, however.
​
Like the previous book of short stories, this collection began life in a local newspaper; Pattaya Daily News. My pay went up accordingly to 3000 baht a WEEK! Suddenly I did not have to iron my own shirts!
​
The first article was about my teacher's speciality- Shakespeare. Thai plays were discovered 'All's Well' 'Much Ado about Nothing' if you catch my drift.
​
Through my columns the original author of the Bond books was uncovered - Somkinda Tealeaf.