I think I’ve hit one of my proudest moments as a writer. This week has seen the publication of George and the Elephant. Along with that Lock Doon Poyams (as part of Peep Frae Your Mind) has been placed into the hands of the great AI bit rate checker in the cloud, and could be an audiobook very soon! There isn’t a lot of interest in either of these pieces of work / art, but I have a profound sense that I’ve achieved something! I will however have to hold fire on saying anything about Lock Doon Poyams until they are actually available!

I’m really proud of George and the Elephant. I’m really proud I’ve written a book about a child with dyslexia. I’m really proud that I’ve written a book about a child with dyslexia and never mentioned the word; I didn’t name the thing; I didn’t give an explanation; offer a reason; and if you don’t read the we bit at the start you’ll never know. Dyslexia is just there; the great unspoken; the great unknown; the stumbling block; the you are different; the ‘you cannot!’ The unspoken is the spirit of the story. The ghost that stalks the pages. The ghoul that harasses.

I’m proud of this piece of writing, because I’m hopeful, I’m hopeful that it might be helpful; or relatable; or encouraging; or, and this one might be going to far, transformative!

The story is magical, after all George gets a big fully grown elephant for Christmas, one that can talk!

But the themes are much more then that: you must live in the moment; you must see what you have; you must do what you can; you must work hard; you must be self-disciplined; you must accept change or opportunity when they come, even when they come in the most unexpected ways.

I’m also proud of this book as a writer, last year I released the book, realised it wasn’t quite good enough and pulled it. I’d already released Sled Down, and my heart didn’t lie to George and the Elephant, it may have been a gut reaction or feeling, but I knew it wasn’t ‘there’ it wasn’t in that ‘place’.

This meant I had to rip it apart and put it back together, but now I see that I got the opportunity to rip it apart and put it back together. That as an author I’d moved from being overtly self-critical (whether the work deserved it or not) to being able to say, this piece of work in its present form isn’t good enough, it isn’t finished. I’m also proud that I was able to trust my system and edited myself. I listen to books on text to speech on my iPad, that’s how I edited it, listen – mark – correct – listen – and repeat until it was finished. it was weighed in the same balances as the other books I read.

I know there wont be a great fanfare, huge sales, or much interest, but none the less I’m very proud of George and the Elephant! And if you happen to read it I hope you enjoy it!

George and the Elephant is available here