Childhood

I had a great childhood despite my dad leaving when I was about 7. My mum did a fantastic job of bringing up me and my sister. She worked part-time and sacrificed a lot to provide for us. I would only see my dad on a weekend. The thing for me that stands out in my childhood is the area where I grew up. I lived at the top end of Pudsey in Leeds, West Yorkshire and a five minute walk from Fulneck. We would play in the countryside all day disappearing first thing and coming back in the evening.

We played football, cricket, hide and seek or just chilled out at the side of the Fulneck golf course. There was a farm at the top of our street that had a mini railway and we would go up in summer and have rides around the fields which would then go under a tunnel. There was a horse in the field called Dandini and a donkey called Patrick. We would do beck jumping down Fulneck valley of which I write about in A FAR REACHING DREAM and THE HIDDEN PATH HOME. Even in CARD SCHOOL I write about playing frisbee down Fulneck Valley something which I did with my own children.

I know I was very lucky to live my childhood where I did and feel sadness for others who had a bad childhood.

We only get one crack at life so why don't we enjoy it? There are some true hidden gems in this country and Fulneck was mine. It will stay a huge part of me for the rest of my life.

http://www.theaa.com/walks/tong-fulnecks-moravian-settlement-421280

I will blog next time about my new book that I am writing.

Keep reading and I'll keep writing.

Thanks

Andy

http://www.andrewmilnerbooks.com



A view over Fulneck valley

Learning lessons

For most of us our aim in life if is to be good at what we do whether it is being the President of a large organisation, a playgroup leader, an author or a student. The majority of us strive to be good, not necessarily the best but good enough to put us above our peers. As a business leader you want your business to be the best and offer the best service to your customers, the playgroup leader who strives to make the children happy and the parents confident in your leadership, the student who wants straight grade As and the author who wants to have the best seller.

When I write a book I have to like the story first before hoping that the reader will like it too. How can I expect people to read and like my book if I don't like it? How can I expect people to believe in my characters if I don't believe in them?

I'm not brilliant at writing books by any stretch of the imagination and will probably never see my name up there with the world's best sellers, Agatha Christie, Barbara Cartland, William Shakespeare and J.K Rowling. Val Wood's book The Doorstep Girls has made it onto The Guardian paperback book chart at No.9 a fantastic achievement which I can only try to emulate. However they all started somewhere and were not born the best, they had to work at it just like I will try to. It is the most highly paid compliment that I have ever received when someone says they enjoyed one of my books.

I take my hat off to people who work hard to be good and I learn lessons all the time from my girlfriend who pushes the boundaries of being epileptic to run her own business and along with athletes and politicians changes people's misconceptions of what Epilepsy is.

Life is a lesson and I learn all the time. My dream is to have 10 books published. I so far have three published and a few more in the planning stage.

Having the compliment of people enjoying my books is like a compulsion to write more, and write more I will !

Thanks, keep reading and I'll keep writing.

Andy

https://www.facebook.com/andrew.milner.355?ref=hl

https://twitter.com/milnerad