HiveComb

Today, the 1st of October 2025 marks the start of something big for me. I wrote a blog a few years ago, and that blog turned into a series and that series became a book.
Ash and the Favour Man was started on my blog, not quite 'right here' but as near as damnit, as the saying goes. I started writing about a little girl and her minor struggle with a troubled home life, lack of love and affection and little money. I wrote from my experiences when I was a child and I added in some fictional circumstances. As the story grew and expanded, it gained popularity and I wrote more.

I had enough to put it all into a book, and all I needed was an ending. It all came together and when I re-read it, I realised I had laid my childhood bare. There were scenes in that book that took me right back to my childhood and sometimes it was difficult to read, even for someone that had lived through it and come out the other side.
I 'spoke' about the book on social media and my life went on. Some people read the book and said they enjoyed it and I didn't think too much about it.

Then, I became ill.

After a few years of tests and puzzlement with regards to my health, an unrelated symptom cropped up. I worried about the symptom, as anyone would, blood in your stool is something you should NEVER ignore.
After two weeks of trying to explain it away, my daughter advised me to contact my doctor.
In the middle of COVID, appointments were difficult to come by, but the doctor rang me back and I went into her office to see her.
We thought it would be a bit of nothing and neither of us were worried.
I went for tests and the general consensus was, 'It's probably nothing, but we'll check to make sure'.
That was in the first quarter of 2021.

In April, probably 2 months after the symptoms first presented, I was diagnosed with cancer. I had Malignant Neoplasm of the Rectum. The cancer itself was small, and with treatment - chemo tablets, radiotherapy every day for 5 weeks, and then intravenous chemo - it shrank a little.

At the end of November 2021 I went in for the operation to remove it.
I went in with eyes wide open regarding the outcome - I would either have a temporary stoma bag to deal with when I came out, or a permanent one.

I asked my doctor when would I know which one I had - temporary or permanent - and he replied:
"If the bag is on your right side, it's temporary, if it's on your left side when you wake up, it's permanent."
I went into the operation after giving him the instruction: "Do what you need to do."

I woke up 7+ hours later and I checked.

I have a permanent stoma bag. The tumour may have been small, but it was in a position where the surgeon and his team just couldn't keep the muscle of the sphincter intact and therefore, the only option was the stoma bag - forever.

I was in hospital for 2 weeks and I have plenty of adventures to write about - just not quite yet.

I came out of hospital, barely able to get around, with a wound that was not yet healed. I had to sleep on a mattress protector and I had to adapt.

Christmas came and went and I pushed myself too hard, but the family rallied round and we had a wonderful (last) Christmas at the home we were about to leave.
You see, we had bought a 'holiday home' and because of the diagnosis, we knew that life was short and we decided to pack it all up, retire and emigrate to France. Lock, stock and horses!
Going to London to apply for a visa was painful - twice!

It was all hard work! Another few stories in the bank for me to draw upon at some time.
We set off on the 28th of March 2022 and arrived in a blizzard on the early morning of the 29th.

I got word that my mother died early in May. I estranged myself from that side of the 'family' almost 2 decades before (another set of stories).
The funeral came and went and I was in no fit state to go - even if I had wanted to (I didn't).
I then got word from various sources that the sperm donor was annoyed that I had the temerity to leave without his permission and had gone to live somewhere he didn't know.
Then I heard that he had made the declaration that if I ever wrote about him, he'd sue me - I'm not sure whether he believed I could do more damage to his reputation than he'd already done - but I decided it wasn't worth disturbing my peace for. And so, I made the book a work of fiction.

A friend in the publishing industry expressed interest in the book and I sent the raw, not-quite-finished document over to him.
The next phone call was a surprise and a delight. He'd decided to publish Ash and the Favour Man and not just that, but he also entered it into a competition!

The People's Book Prize

Fiction category

From there, it was a whirlwind six months of hustling for votes, getting Ash out to as many people as possible and the rounds of beg, borrow, cajole, ask as many as I could reach to please, please PLEASE vote for Ash and the Favour Man in the competition.

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Spoiler! The award is on the front cover!
The Frederick Forsythe Award for Fiction to be precise!

Now, 2 years later, I have finished the sequel to Ash and the Favour Man.

Ash and the Faceless Man is entered in the competition and the whole process is starting again.

Wish me luck! Vote, buy the book/ebook, share, whatever you like, I appreciate it all.

Link to vote for Ash and the Faceless Man