To help start Adults' Learners Week, Rochdale Library have invited me to give a talk about my four South Lancashire based novels One Winter, One Spring, One Summer and One Autumn. I'll talk about the two things that first inspired me to start writing in 1988: one was my love of Rugby League, from the day when I first entered the boys' pen at Knowsley Road in 1947 and the second was the old saying about work that "They could write a book about this place. It would be a best seller": In my case I worked as a draughtsman in South Lancashire, West Yorkshire and North London at Wembley and over forty odd years met many characters and saw many things worth recording.

I'll talk about how I started to write what was originally called "Tales of a Northern Draughtsman", I'll talk about how I create my characters, how I include a strong Rugby League content, about the importance of plenty Lancashire humour, heard on the terraces, in the pub and at work but also include a few sad and moving tales as well. I'll stress how useful it is to have knowledge of your family tree, if you were thinking about writing a novel based on your own life and times and I'll also read a few extracts.

The event starts at 2 and runs until 3.30 on Saturday 18th May. There is no need to book a place, just turn up. It's free admission and if I find anybody in the audience at the end who hasn't laughed at least once, then they can have their money back.
At present there are a number of posters pinned up in the library just to give a flavour of my style. Nip in and have a look.

And finally I will be able to announce that my fifth novel called 'Two Seasons' which has a background of Work, Family Life and Rugby League in 2002/2003 will be published in July and also that I am hoping it will get Sean Longlisted for the 2013 Booker Prize.

Anybody coming tomorrow?