5 Questions to my ‘Stories for the Road’ co-writer Jude Lennon

by | Sep 28, 2026 | Uncategorized |

It’s countdown time to the October 10 publication of the short story compilation ‘Stories for the Road’ written by by myself and Jude Lennon. It has been a great collaboration and wearing my interviewer hat, here are a few questions to my fabulous co-writer…

5 QUESTIONS – AUTHOR Jude Lennon

You love travelling around in your VW campervan ‘Buttercup’. What is the best and worst thing about holidays on the road?

‘The best – you don’t really need a plan. You can get up each day and decide where you fancy visiting. You can also find some beautiful, tucked away places off the beaten track. We’ve recently discovered a new campsite on the Welsh Coast which we’ll definitely return to. It’s also lovely to enjoy the great outdoors and eating meals with a beautiful view.

The worst – not surprisingly the weather! We had to abandon one holiday half way through because the rain was never ending. There’s only so many days you can stand continuous downpours!’

Which character did you have the most fun creating for ‘Stories for the Road?’

‘I think it would have to be the lead character from Lord Ryton’s Long Lost Library. In the story, we don’t actually find out her name but she’s called Emma. I loved seeing her change from quite a shallow, ditsy character into one with more depth and appreciation for the world around her. The other character I really loved developing was Marcus from The Bridge. He’s quite dark and I knew I needed to find his vulnerability’.

Music features in a good number of our stories. What is your all time favourite album?

‘This is sooooooo hard!

Either Abbey Road by the Beatles or Rumours by Fleetwood Mac. I’d be happy if either of those were stowed away in my luggage’.

What have I enjoyed the most about creating your short stories for this collection?

‘I’ve really enjoyed meeting the characters. They are a varied bunch with different tales to tell. Just like we all are. I’ve also enjoyed the settings I’ve used. I like to think of them as ‘characters’ too’.

5. Cornwall is one of the locations featured in our stories. Where is your favourite Cornish place?

‘I love the beach at Polzeath and I love Tintagel when it’s not too busy. We’ve never taken Buttercup (our van) to Cornwall but it’s definitely going to happen’.

#Storiesfortheroad#shortstories#shortfiction#campervan#roadtravel

Our fur-legged stars!

by | Sep 14, 2026 | Uncategorized |

Our four-legged pets are everywhere – have you noticed how many advertisements and dramas now have a pet dog or cat at the heart of their story-lines? 🦮

Of course the same is true of books, including the forthcoming collection of short stories, ‘Stories for the Road’, written by myself and Jude Lennon. Not long now until publication date on October 10th!

Our stories include a sassy spaniel, who accompanies one-time radio agony aunt Pamela, as she takes to the road in her motorhome hoping to solve a few everyday life problems.

There is a therapy dog who attends art classes and another who is preparing to say a good-bye to her owners after a life well lived.

A dog also features on our book cover and…ahem…bears a resemblance to my own cockapoo dog, Bonnie, who this year is celebrating a milestone 10 years as a visiting Pets as Therapy (PAT) dog.

So cheers to all our four-legged fur friends and on that note I’m looking forward to reading ‘Man and Dog’ by one of my favourite writers, Tony Parsons.

Thanks to Jackie Hague for her great feedback on the short story ‘Pippa’s Last Hurrah’ from ‘Stories for the Road’.

“Although I found this story moving and sad, it is uplifting too. I’d like to think that our dogs do prepare us for their last journey and I’ve no doubt that dog lovers will find it as comforting as I did.”