It’s late at night and the page is blank so I turn to Laozi and Pooh bear.
Actually that’s not true. I turn to you…… to help me get the ball rolling, to create and share my and Manjula’s story. It’s the age old writer’s conundrum. As you see I have a pile of full notebooks but how to get the blank page filled to begin to start the actual story. Can you help?
If you know Manjula and I or even if you don’t 🙃 what’s the key ingredients of our story that might interest you or a wider audience. What are the main themes that will interest people?
Me and MYCycle 
Hebden Bridge meets Hinduism?
I like it….
Hi Stephen. How did you meet and what brought you first together? What was that first connection, that first spark?
Thanks Shelagh, good questions and focus. I know you’re not looking for an answer here and now but I’ll give it anyway as it helps add words to the page, as you well know. Manjula would joke with me saying as she pointed to my face, finger wagging…: “when I first came I was your maid, now You’re mine”. Recently a friend of Manjula’s shared with me how Manjula would go and sit at her Tailor’s shop passing the time of day. One of their repeated conversations was about me. Manjula was attracted to the boss but couldn’t imagine anything happening and see any future in it. Meanwhile back in Hebden Bridge I would discuss with Chris Ratcliffe and Victoria Secretan in London about how I fancied the maid but couldn’t do anything about it ethically (employer/employee dynamic) and put her in an unacceptable vulnerable position. Over time, still with nothing having actually happened guests would joke about us. Seeing that there was a spark and how close we were they began to start taking the piss. On the lines of… we know you’re not together, really! Eventually it was obvious even to the slow, stale Yorkshireman that there wasn’t much of a risk and she wasn’t the vulnerable woman, far from it. We connected, became giggly children and went on from there. Thanks for the good questions. That gives me a good start. I must also learn my craft. Stephen
Maybe you could write it for yourself as your starting point. The story that you would like to share with your friends and family. If you bear in mind that every good book is rewritten many times before it is published, then you don’t have to worry about getting it 100% right in the first version! Does that help to get you started?! Just get the ball rolling and you’ll iron out the kinks before you publish. 😉
Thanks Nick. Yes helpful. There’s lots written already but not in a digestible form. There’s notes and transcripts of Manjulas recordings. I’m now trying to give it order and structure before venturing further. Ha
Ha. Another question if you don’t mind. From
What you know of our story or one like it. Do you have suggestions for ….. What would draw people’s interest and keep them reading?