I thought I would provide a brief update on how I am progressing with my book. I’m quite proud of myself, although not the least bit complacent, that I have arrived at 32,567 words so far – that’s just over a third of the way through an ‘average’ book. Of course, I’m hoping that my book will be a little better than ‘average’ – you will be the judges of that.

So how am I doing it – never having taken on quite such a mammoth task before, and at the same time as starting a business. Well, as you will find out when you read the book, I have never been a person to do things by halves. I try to write 1,000 words a day. If I don’t do my 1,000 words one day, I try to write 2,000 words the next day.

An example: last Saturday I had a bit of a lazy day after doing some Toastmasters International work in the morning and didn’t write anything, although I had planned to. So, when I got home from my country walk on Sunday afternoon, I sat down and wrote 2,000 words in about an hour and a half. It’s really just about being disciplined, and I am doing something that I have dreamed of doing for a very long time, so it’s about a dream coming true, which makes it easier.

Shortly, I am going to go back to the beginning and put in more detail, but at the moment I am writing about my battle with cancer, which has brought back some very painful memories but also made me realise once again how fortunate I am to still be here!