A Friend for Life – True stories from Battersea Dogs and Cats Home.

Opening with a foreword by Paul O’Grady, this heart-warming and uplifting collection of real life stories demonstrate the extraordinary lengths Battersea volunteers go to in order to give animals a second chance, as well as celebrating the power of animals to transform people’s lives.

Battersea Dogs and Cats Home is the oldest and most-loved animal home in the country, caring for thousands of lost, abandoned or unwanted cats and dogs every year. But while they play a vital role in saving animals, quite often these animals go on to save their new owners in surprising ways.

Royalties from the sale of this book go towards supporting the work of Battersea Dogs and Cats Home (registered charity no.206394)

What’s not to like about this, especially if you’re an animal lover. A book very much full of love, hope, and sheer delight.

A Friend for Life: £6.99.

A Christmas Angel at the Ragdoll Orphanage by Suzanne Lambert

When the author, Suzanne, was left, two weeks old, at the door of an orphanage in Newcastle, it was Nancy the nanny who fought for the right to adopt Suzanne. Now, 60 years later, Suzanne is sharing the untold story of all the many orphans that her mother Nancy saved throughout the 1940s and 50s.
A Christmas Angel at the Ragdoll Orphanage tells the story of a remarkable woman, who worked tirelessly to give society’s most vulnerable children a chance of home and happiness. Full of touching,unforgettable stories, this is a wondrously festive book all about the real meaning of motherhood.

Another winner: an inspiring book, full of hope. As one with roots near Newcastle I loved this but even as a someone from down south I would have done, anyway.

A Christmas Angel at the Ragdoll Orphanage: pb Michael Joseph £6.99

A Pug Like Percy by Fiona Harrison

Be still my beating heart. This is a fantastic book for the Christmas stocking, but for what age? Children would enjoy it, and the print is such that it is easily read, but why deprive adults? What a peach of a pug.

Percy is homeless, abandoned by his owner at an animal rescue centre on a cold winter’s night. So when he finds a loving new home with Gail and her family, his deepest wish is that this time, it’s forever. Will it be, with the family under strain as the young daughter Jenny endures frequent trips to hospital?

Ah, wait and see.

A Pug Like Percy hb: £9.99

At last, some workplace relief…

As an author with Arrow, writing two books a year under a couple of names, plus running a small charity which helps wounded ex-service personnel, plus the role of contributing editor, feature writer and literary reviewer for Frost Magazine, plus teaching creating writing, plus…

Well, you get the idea.

Yep, so there I sit in my kitchen/dining room, which doubles as my study because I need to be in the heart of the house with the dogs scattered about. I sit there, typing, and thinking, and typing, with my bum getting bigger, and my back getting worse, hour after hour, producing the latest Margaret Graham, or Milly Adams, or whatever writing is needed that day. At the end of it, I swallow pills to cope with the backache.

Then I read that Churchill – as well as writing in bed, in the bath, at his desk – also wrote at a standing desk. I then thought of all the traditional clerks who stood at them too. Would this help me?

So I have ‘road tested’ the Pro Plus 36 VARIDESK

It’s the most amazing tool for anyone who types and writes a great deal. It can be used at the height you need – just squeeze the handles at the side and it will spring up effortlessly. I move it a little up and down from time to time, to ease the elbow and shoulder position.  If you find you would like to sit for a bit, just squeeze again, and lower it. You can see that the book (Milly Adams – Sisters at War) I had stood on the top level stayed upright as I lowered it.

The difference it makes is extraordinary because you are changing your position throughout the day, and taking the pressure off your spine as you sit. My back is vastly improved and I will save on chiropractic fees. But let me tell you a bit more.

The footprint is 4.5” H 36” W x 29.75” D (11.43 CM X 91.44 CM x 75.57 CM)

It is ideal for those with dual-monitor setups or larger workspace needs, but I find it great for my laptop, reference books, and coffee cup, not to mention my phone. However, ‘him indoors’ is showing too much interest in its two-tiered design with separate keyboard/mouse deck which gives you plenty of room for basics and accessories with the added convenience of never having to move any components when raising or lowering your VARIDESK. 

Like all VARIDESK stand up desk models, the Pro Plus 36 features VARIDESK’s patented spring-assisted lift mechanism that allows you to raise and lower it almost effortlessly in just seconds, (that’s true, trust me) making it a true sit stand desk. It can hold up to 15.8kg (35 lbs.) with ease and stays sturdy and stable even at its fully extended height. There are other desks available too.

• Free delivery
• 4cm (36″) wide for larger, dual-monitor setups
• Two-tier design: upper display surface, lower keyboard/mouse deck
• Holds up to 15.8kg (35 lbs.)
• Sits on top of existing desk.

Seriously, this is a great buy at RRP £335.

For more information: http://uk.varidesk.com

Why did I choose to write about the Air Transport Auxiliary in Sisters at War?

The ATA was a civilian organisation that flew all manner of airplanes from the wartime factories to the bases for the boys in blue to fly – in defence of our country in the 2^nd World War.

One of the women who flew those planes was my cousin, Maureen. To join the ATA, women pilots needed a minimum of 500 hours solo flying – twice that of a man. Sigh… I wanted to write about her, and all the other girls like her.

In early 1942 Maureen and her sister travelled from their home in Argentina on a neutral Argentine-registered ship and while her sister joined the BBC, Maureen joined the ATA, one of a total of 164 female pilots to do so. She probably flew 38 types of aircraft, including Spitfires, Mustangs and bombers. Once the canopy of her Spitfire cockpit blew off after take off and on another occasion she had to put down in a field after the engine of her airplane failed in the air.

My cousin became a cover girl for Picture Post when photographed pushing her hair out of her face after she left the cockpit of her aircraft. She was a shy person, and that wouldn’t have necessarily pleased her.

At the end of the war, she qualified as a flying instructor at RAF Luton, before returning to Argentina. There she instructed pilots and flew for the Argentine Air Force and also worked as a commercial pilot. Finally, married with two children, she moved toNorfolk to breed Arab horses..

Maureen survived the war though several of her friends did not. My father, a fighter pilot, admired Maureen enormously, and all the ATA pilots, who flew unarmed, in appalling conditions, and without complaint. I wanted to wrap a character around her, her courage and ethics. Hence Bryony in Sisters at War.

I rather fear her irritating sister, Hannah, was me as an adolescent but we’ll keep that quiet.

The other character I absolutely loved, was the evacuee Cissie. I have a need to put an inspirational child into my books. Is it because I have four children and have to keep on nurturing youngsters, and perhaps make fewer mistakes? Who knows – my mum always said that the one certain thing is that you always feel you could have done better. The child is invariably there, a central character, one around which things happen, and who grows, and challenges, develops,  and enhances the lives of grown-ups. Then there’s the bloke, or blokes…

Who knows how the trawlers were utilised in the war? Not many of you, I bet. I didn’t until a friend, Tracy Baines, told me about her grandfather. Well, the trawlers became armed, and took on convoy protection, minesweeping and heaven knows what. They were the bravest of the brave and were ignored after the war. They didn’t, and don’t, deserve that. They deserve recognition. My book isn’t enough, not nearly, but it’s something, and what a great bunch of men they were, and are.

So, my books have history, setting, a girl, a bloke, some romance, a child who heals, an irritation, and from that anyone can weave a story. Try it and see.

Milly Adams has agreed to write a series of articles to help you write your own novels. Keep an eye on Frost Magazine and learn how to write your own bestseller.