Born soon after the outbreak of WW2, I became the eldest of what was to become a family of seven children.

At 8 years of age, my writing was held up to my class as a model of clarity. When fellow students protested my use of a one word sentence they were told that the word Stuff was completely appropriate and sufficient within the context of How to Make a Soft Toy.

Ten years later, social life beyond the training hospital was in the company of the local branch of the Junior Farmers. My submission of the Junior Farmers Annual Report to the local weekly press was run as second lead. Heady stuff.

At the age of 28, while living in the UK, I took on the task of preparing and submitting the Village Notes for the village in which I lived. Instead of it being published under that heading among those from other villages, the editor chose to run my contributions as a separate piece much to the annoyance of locals who did not like having to search for it.

My social life then was attending monthly meetings of a local Writers Circle and weekly workshops that required regular exercises upon which we each commented.

Moving to London, I started writing poetry. Rather the poetry demanded to be written. Once written, I started readings in a pub cellar at the Freemasons Arms in Hampstead thanks to the support of Leonie Scott-Mathews of Pentameters. (She is still going strong.)

The first public recognition of my work was a recital of one of my poems by Shakespearean actor, Patrick Wymark, between Donne's Ecstasy and.Blake's Tyger which left me wondering just where one goes from there?

At 38 years of age, I gained a Special Entry (having left school age 14) into the University of Adelaide based on an essay in response to Man is just a chimpanzee with a few extra tricks. Discuss.

Over a period of 50 years I have had four children, one of whom was killed; two marriages and as many divorces and many, many episodes of mental illness with varying diagnoses until that of bi-polar was settled upon. Lithium enabled me to view the world differently and I was able to avoid getting caught up in some alternative reality going on in my head.

Instead, I was able to say, If I were manic, I would be interpreting this, that and the other as such and such.

After fourteen years of being successfully medicated - that is no more manic episodes - I made the choice not to be the sanest person in the dialysis unit and came off lithium but retain the habit of thinking acquired during that time.

In 1990 I prepared a manuscript titled Without Proper Treatment which eventually saw the light of day, several years later as Life Before Lithium

In 1970, I had a powerful dream that was a signal at the beginnings of a psychotic episode that lasted more than two years. During that time, my head was in a different space and it is from memories of that space, an underlying reality, that I now draw on in creating the novel on which I am currently working.

The sequel is almost completed. I am not in a hurry.

The money earned through purchases of that already published through Smashwords is sufficient to cover my domain renewal fee.

I hope to complete the current work without having to lift the coffin lid to place the final full stop.