Andy Wiseman Author

Mental Health Awareness Week

Sun, 24 May 2020 15:03:11 -0700

This week has been Mental Health Awareness Week, with kindness being the theme for this year.

We all have mental health, just as we do physical health, only we don’t seem to exercise or nurture the former, in a way we do the latter. For many, poor mental health is a taboo subject, for some, a stigma.

Anxiety and depression is something I have struggled with from early childhood, through teenage years and into adulthood. It was severe enough for my (adoptive) mother to make a one-off visit to the family GP and, subsequently, a child psychologist for prognosis, a brave decision for a working-class housewife in a hard northern town in the less than enlightened 1970s. She didn’t take me with her for the consultation, and it wasn't until some years later that she was to tell me about her visit. The psychologist's prognosis of my condition was on my 17-year-old birth mother's state of mind at being pregnant and unmarried in the early 1960s, a shameful thing to be during that time. That shame was dealt with by sending her from her home in the West Midlands to a maternity home for unmarried mothers in Lincolnshire, known locally as 'the naughty girls' home', where she would give birth to her child, before then giving it up for adoption six weeks later.

The psychologist's advice to my mother was to hope that I would "grow out of it"...

Having poor mental health can be a stigma, and like illegitimate births, years ago, something not to be talked about, the fact that we as individuals and as a society don’t talk about such things, only makes the sufferer’s issue worse. Why? - Probably because we don’t understand or know how to deal with it. The five warning signs of mental health issues are long-lasting sadness or irritability; extreme high and low moods; excessive fear, worry, or anxiety; social withdrawal; dramatic changes in eating or sleeping habits. Living with one or more of these issues can have a massive impact on a sufferer's day-to-day...Read More

Breaking News!

Tue, 05 May 2020 03:12:41 -0700

Earlier today on Sky News, Kay Burley reported on the story of a five-year-old in Utah, America, being pulled over by the police for speeding (this is a true story!). Apparently, the child's mother had refused to buy him a Lamborghini, so he took her car without permission to drive to California and buy one with the three dollars in his pocket. Kay Burley's closing comment was "good for him!"

Now, call me Mr Grumpy-pants, but I felt that comment was a little out of order, if not downright irresponsible when the outcome could have been considerably worse, if not tragic. And because my grumpiness was of such a level - possibly due to lockdown blues, possibly my partner having used all the milk on her cereals, though more likely the discovery of a fresh cat hairball with bare feet only minutes before - I felt compelled to fire off an e-mail to Sky News (my very first to them) asking for confirmation that Kay Burley condones five-year-olds putting a lot of people's lives at risk - a prize of one fresh cat hairball to whoever guesses what response I got!

One hour later the story was repeated. This time, Kay Burley's closing comment was that he could put his three dollars towards paying his fine and that he was a “little monkey”; no retraction, no apology.

On a lighter note, also earlier today, the BBC Breakfast’s Dan Walker asked the question: “what are the TV companies going to do when they run out of new stuff?” (re: lockdown) Well, the BBC will probably do what they've been doing for decades, and that's to show repeats!!

Stay safe and well.

Andy

'Harry's Revenge' - release date news!

Fri, 10 Apr 2020 03:54:03 -0700

Dear Friends,

Just to let you know - and in response to some recent emails - my new book, ‘Harry’s Revenge’, which was due for release in April (2020), has now been put on hold due to the Coronavirus outbreak. The level of publicity and self-promotion that would be required doesn't seem appropriate at a time when many are sick and dying. When the time does seem appropriate, I'll let you know. Alternatively, you could sign-up for my newsletter and receive an automatic notification (go to the top of the page!)

Stay safe and well.

Andy

The Pikachu Lady

Wed, 15 Jan 2020 04:07:26 -0800

Dear Reader,

Do you like to people-watch? I do. I find people’s (unguarded) behaviour both curious and fascinating. People-watching is, by its nature, a covert undertaking. It has to be. If the people you were watching knew you were watching, they wouldn't behave in a manner that was true to their nature - not to mention they might be offended to the point where angry words are exchanged and/or physical violence is inflicted upon you!

The following story is an example of people-watching.

Early on the morning of New Year's Eve (2019) and in preparation for a trip to a retail outlet for a day’s shopping - my wife's idea, not mine - we called into a local garden centre cafe for a hearty vegetarian breakfast. Being early, we were the first in. Food ordered, we then chose a table in the window in which to enjoy the view of the garden centre’s flowers. Breakfast was served shortly afterwards and consisted of hash browns, vegetarian sausages, fried eggs, tomatoes and mushrooms. I had a side order of toasted white bread, along with a supersized pot of builder’s strength tea; my wife had toasted brown bread and a very large cappuccino in a cup reminiscent of a receptacle my Nan used to keep under her bed.

During breakfast, I glanced up to see a small, stooped figure at the service counter. A figure dressed in a three-quarter length hooded red coat; the hood was lined with white fur and was up, hiding the figure's face. My first random thought was that it was either Father Christmas or Red Riding Hood. The figure was also wearing a red plaid knee-length skirt with calf-length fur-lined leather boots. No handbag. Despite the lack of a handbag, I made the cunningly astute assumption it was an elderly woman. I could have been wrong because we do live in a liberal society, but as it turned out, I wasn't.

After placing her order, the lady in red - second random thought and 10 points for the correct answer...Read More

Need a last minute Christmas present?

Wed, 11 Dec 2019 12:07:37 -0800

Hi, folks

Hope you are all well.

If you are looking for that last-minute Christmas present, a copy of Harry's Justice might be just the thing!

If you would like a signed paperback, click on the 'CLICK TO BUY' button.

If you would like the Kindle version sending direct to your recipient, click on the 'GET THE KINDLE VERSION' button which will take you straight to my Amazon page. Once there, click on the 'Buy for others' box and follow the instructions!

On Amazon, you will also find a full synopsis of Harry's Justice along with its reviews!

Welcome to Andy Wiseman

Fri, 22 Nov 2019 13:32:21 -0800

Hi!

My name is Andy Wiseman, I'm an indie author and I'd like to welcome you to not only my new website but also to my very first blog!

This website is my ‘shop window’, it’s where visitors can see and buy my books. It’s also where I get to talk about my work, my love of reading, and any random observations on life.

I grew up in a working-class family of book readers. My younger siblings and I inherited our love of books from our parents, and they from theirs. Books were read then passed around, the reading material usually commercial fiction, Jack Higgins, Wilbur Smith, etc., rather than Dickens or Shaw.

In the seventies, early on a morning and after I'd done my paper round, and before my father going to work on a building site, he and I could be found sitting at the kitchen table, he on one side, I, on the other, feet up on opposing chairs, legs outstretched, each with a book cradled in our hands. On the kitchen table would be empty plates that had once held slices of hot, thickly buttered toast, along with individual pots of tea, the kitchen warm and cosy from the residual heat of the freestanding cooker’s grill, the smell of burnt cotton tea towel lingering in the air on the (often) occasions Dad forgot to remove it from the top of the grill where it had been left to dry. The house would be still and quiet, my mother, brother and two sisters still in bed. Bookworm harmony and happy days!

My love of reading served me well, through my Comprehensive schooling. In junior school, we had what was called 'reading class' - one of the few classes I enjoyed and looked forward to - where each child would sit and quietly read to themselves. Once we had read our book completely, we then had to give a summary to the teacher of what the story was about before we would be given another. Because I was a voracious reader, I was frequently requesting another book, which often drew some suspicion from the...Read More