The Cowboy was my first published piece of creative work. Marvellous news at the time, but also a touch disconcerting as it was, and still is, really, the only thing I’ve written that’s littered with obscenities.

I’m not really into swearing in writing. I don’t mean that in a prudish way, I just get tired of reading work that effs and blinds, simply for the sake of effing and blinding. It’s often used to mask dodgy writing, I reckon.

So, this story is a bit of an exception, for me. And it’s a bit daft. I never thought it would end up in print, but I’m glad that it did. Because while I’m not mad-keen on swearing in print, it is rather fun to do it in front of an audience.

Oh, and sorry about the ISBN gag at the start. And my potty mouth, of course.

Anyway, I’m currently collecting the first six chapters of my novel, A is for Angelica, to make them available for you to download, print and read (not steal) from this very site.

I figure, if you’re going to talk the talk, you need to walk the walk, which is a phrase I may have just invented and is in truth, fairly nonsensical. What I’m saying is, I’d like to show you my writing as well as talk to you about it.

While you’re waiting for me to get that sorted, feel free to pop your head round the door of my webshed.

I decided to read the opening chapter of John McGregor’s If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things at the first ever Words Aloud in 2006. We wanted Words Aloud to be as much about Sheffield and its people as the writing itself. We wanted to provide a platform for creativity, which sounds wet, but is true nonetheless. And although this passage isn’t about Sheffield, it seemed to sum up our feelings at the time.

I guess I’ll add more to the Videos category when more footage become available, which I suppose will require me to record some. Crikey.

I’ve fumbled with Tumblr for the past few months and, having been mightily impressed with it, decided to use it for Write for Your Life, an idea I’ve had in my brainbox for quite some time. More of that later, no doubt.

So this is a proper site, on WordPress, about me, something that feels incredibly egotistical, but will hopefully help me to focus my writing and log some of the projects I seem to be getting myself into at the moment.

And it will primarily be about writing, too. I’ll try my best not to put my holiday pictures up or post any late night nonsense. Like I say, focus. Must focus.