On 16th June, Father’s day in the UK, my wife received a phone call. Her Dad, at the tender age of 63, had died. A sudden, massive heart attack had taken away my wife’s father, my mother-in-laws husband of over 40 years, and a grandfather to my two children.
This is where the story begins and none of it is fiction.
The day after, I drove the two hours back home leaving my wife, and her sister, to look after my mother-in-law, giving them time to be together. With me I took my two distraught children. Even in death, life continues. My children had to return to school, and in my daughter’s case to nursery.
My side of the family did what all loving families do in times of need – they leapt into the breach. My brother and mother dropped everything to come up and look after my children so I could return to Norfolk and see what I could do to help – not much, but be there.
Prior to this I had been writing ‘The Stone Road’. I’d completed maybe 60k of it and was taking my time, writing a bit here and there, seeing where the characters led me. It was far from finished. I did however have a few short stories I was happy with. Some from my Creative Writing and English Literature Degree studies (I ended up with the Diploma when the OU put the prices up), and some others I had written. I got the kids to school (and nursery), sat down at the computer and put them together in an ebook. An ebook I placed on Amazon more than anything so that I could write the foreword – my small memorial to a man that I had known for 16 years, who I had been on holiday with, that helped us move home, that fostered my love of Whiskey and Wine, who gave me his daughter for a wife.
‘Too Short’ was published on the 17th June. It was the best I could do – it was something I wanted, needed to do. It doesn’t matter if no one buys it, that wasn’t the point. Some will see it, some will dip in with the Amazon ‘look inside’ function and see the dedication. That’s the important part for me.
That was two years ago today.