Time Travel Novel - Inside the Clock

Time Travel Book - "Inside the Clock"

"Inside the Clock"
My book "Inside the Clock"  is doing remarkably well for a first time novel. This is a book that is based on a true story. When I was sixteen, I met a girl who I fell in love with. One day, I really mess up and do something that ruins the relationship and she ditches me for my best friend.

Virtually everything in the book is real and actually happened but some things are not. These are blended together seamlessly and you will have to decide what is real and what is not. Dates, places, people and locations are correct even down to what was in the newspapers on that day. I have changed peoples names but nothing else.

As I look back into my past, I yearn to go back to a certain day in my life but when I get the chance it can never be as I want it. If I change too much, will it affect my future? Will certain loved ones cease to exist when I return if I make the wrong move?

The clock featured in this novel is an antique that still exists today and is a strong player in the conclusion of "Inside the Clock".

In the writing of this book, I have had no training, no publisher and no help whatsoever. It just goes to show that if you try and keep on trying, then you can succeed.

You get quite a long free preview of this book by clicking on the "look inside" feature when you visit the Amazon Kindle page that features my book "Inside the Clock".

Above is  a screen shot showing you just how you the public have helped me in ranking "Inside the Clock" the time travel book.

Do you fear self employment?

Do you fear Self Employment?

Don't fear self employment, it's not as bad as you might imagine. I have been self employed for 28 years now and I vowed that I would never work for anyone else ever again.

Having done a number of jobs in the past like the Merchant Navy and three trades in the Royal Navy, I know enough about being employed to make a judgement.

One thing I did like about being in the Navy was the security it gave me but I also have to admit that I was in the wrong job. But you know what, it is notoriously hard to just change jobs when you have commitments hanging over your head and bills to pay. It can be a real nightmare. For more information read this amazing book

In my case I had no choice over my discharge from the Royal Navy. I was discharged because of stress aggravated by Naval service. No body's fault really, just one of those things. All this was a long time ago though and to be honest I was relieved to get out and at the time, I didn't have very many commitments even though I was married. I didn't have any kids as well so the decisions I made would be easier. Although I owned my own property, it was a mobile home on a Naval caravan site.
We loved it here but we could not stay so I put the place up for sale and sold it without any problems.

After a foray into the jobs market I was able to get a job with accommodation as a gardener for a millionaire in Kent. There had been many applicants but somehow my wife and I had impressed them enough to get the job. We only lasted a month here though and it left me with a bitter taste in my mouth and I began to wonder where my life was leading. For more information read this amazing book

I spent the next two years unemployed in Malta. This was a highlight though and as my wife is Maltese, we had many relatives to rely on. I had received a gratuity of £5000 on leaving the Navy, and this is mainly what we lived on for two years. When the money ran out and a bad on foreigners working in Malta, we returned to the UK and briefly to my parents house. We were now homeless and almost penniless apart from a small pension granted to my from the Navy, but not enough to live on.

We did not last long here either so moved in with friends in Durham whom we'd met in Malta. It was then that I met a window cleaner who was selling his round. It wasn't something I had considered before but I decided to buy the round.

Because I was so eager to work for myself at this time, I was keen to make it work. After some training from the old guy I was away on my own. There was a lot to learn but it didn't take long to learn the routine. Soon I was able to come off social security although they did not give me much on top of my pension. Then we applied for a council house and got one within six weeks. Since I had been in the Navy, I got some priority but remember, the waiting list was not so long in 1986.

Things were looking up and my wife would help me clean the windows too. After a few months we really began to learn how to clean windows well and even we were surprised at how fast we could get the round out of the way. We also began to pick up extra work. Some I got by canvassing newly built houses and began to get some good work. Others I got by people just seeing us work and asking us to clean there houses.

I had bought an old Morris Minor which should really have been in the scrap yard but it got us about at first. However, we were doing so well that I was able to sell this and get a big Rover SD1. It seemed like an amazing turn around and not long after we bought an old caravan to go touring in at weekends.

So being self employed was suiting us but don't get carried away, absolutely nothing is ideal. It was hard work especially in winter. Going back to peoples houses collecting at night and being responsible for my own tax. I had to be self disciplined too and this won't suit everyone but to be my own boss for once far outweighed the downside for me.

Also, when you are self employed, the money can be better than you initially imagine. We could have done better but we are content with the life we had self employed and one big plus was that I got to spend a lot of time with my family. I concentrated on short hours but with a relatively high pay. Also I am actually in a very secure job, a job for life and one from which I can't get the sack.

So if you're thinking of going self employed make sure you are prepared for the responsibility that it brings but the upside can be very rewarding. For more information read this amazing book

Who I am

Who I am

      Hi, I'm Chris Dawber and my nick name is Wagga. I began this blog in the hope of selling a few more books. Yes I wrote a book called "Running For Home" so this blog is mainly about this and there are many snippets and excerpts from the book on this blog.

I'm actually a window cleaner but I've done so many things in the past that even I have trouble believing that it was I that did them all. I have had a life of adventure, danger and sheer farce. The title of the book was inspired by the song "Run For Home" by Lindisfarne.

I was always trying to get home any way I could and this propensity to chicken out of so many responsibilities, was detrimental to whatever I tried to turn my hand to career wise. Though I do not regret much of what I did, I know that I could have done much better had I had the confidence and self esteem to go with it.

However, every cloud has a silver lining and as such, because of all the mishaps and adventures that this sort of lifestyle got me into, gave me a lot to write about. The most hectic period of my life and perhaps the most dangerous, was when I was an aircrew man in the type of helicopter in the picture.

It was a dangerous yet exciting period of my life but it still makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end every time I think about all the things that happened.

Free books - Worth Reading?

From time to time, you might see advertised on Amazon, a number of free books for you to download to your Kindle, computer or phone among other devices. Are these books free because they are not by famous Authors? Not necessarily.

Actually, it is a way for Authors, both successful and new to the world of writing to promote their new labour of love.

Many extremely good books can be picked up absolutely free from Amazon by both famous Authors and otherwise. Personally, I fall into the unknown category, but I did not expect to become famous overnight. In fact it will probably never happen.

What has happened though, is in the writing of my autobiography; "Running For Home" is a great sense of achievement and a sort of "getting it all off my chest" type of situation. If you have ever thought of writing your autobiography or memoirs, then don't put it off. At the very least, it will be a lasting legacy to all your close relatives and friends alike.

The best bit of it all to me was that I didn't need a publisher. To publish a book with Amazon you don't. This may come as a revelation to some and might even give you the impetus to start writing. There's lots of help too and Amazon are very good at this and I have to admit, I will always be eternally grateful for such a great company.

If you are wondering just where to start in all of this, why not take a look at my effort. As I have always said, if I can do it, then most others can as well.  "Running For Home" is an example of a book written from the heart. It does not purport to be a masterpiece or to be anything but an honest attempt to put into writing the account of an ordinary man's life. A man that is not afraid to say he was scared.

"Running For Home" is available for free for the next five days, starting tomorrow, 6th August. http://goo.gl/pkIhOI

Emergency Landing

Emergency Landing

Indian Ocean, 1974. I was the aircrew man on HMS Lowestoft's Wasp helicopter. The pilot, Lt Kidd and I, were flying on a brilliant day at 400 ft above the sea when suddenly there was a loud bang!
The pilot and I looked at each other wondering what had just happened. The aircraft flew on as normal but I could detect an increase in vibration mainly by looking at the instruments. One of these, a basic temperature gauge was vibrating more than normal and I decided to look through my missile aimer's scope which was like a pair of binoculars. This confirmed that indeed there was extra vibration present. The pilot suggested that it might have been a sonic boom from an aircraft high above us but none were in the vicinity. I suggested the aircraft's gearbox. It was then that he requested an emergency landing on the nearest vessel with a flight deck. RFA Olna was visible and minutes away.

The landing went as normal. An engineer was dispatched and winched down to Olna using Falmouth's Wasp helicopter. He did a few tests and took oil samples but could find nothing so we flew back to Lowestoft where further tests were carried out. Nothing was found but I knew deep down inside that the gearbox was faulty. I tried to tell the flight crew and the pilot but no one would take me seriously. They even sent and engineer up in 451 to check out the scope but he returned saying it was fine. I knew it had changed dramatically. I was given a direct order to fly in 451 so I had no choice. My nerves were frayed.

Flying continued as normal but when we were asked to identify a large Russian warship on the horizon, I was unable to do so since the scope was vibrating too much. It was the Cold War years and I hate to think of how many missiles must have been locked on to us before we got too close.
Years later I found out that this ship was the USSR Leningrad, the flagship of the Soviet Union.

Lt Kidd, the pilot, was fond of doing excessive acrobatic manoeuvres with the helicopter such as stall turns which made me even more nervous. The helicopter just kept on flying as normal but when HMS Falmouth's Wasp ditched into the sea and was a complete wreck, the crew surviving, they requested to borrow ours. It was then that I had many mixed emotions. What if it should crash. I would feel responsible but I was not taken seriously.

For some days I had to live with this possibility until shockingly a message came through that 451 had actually crashed on the flight deck of the Falmouth. Miraculously, the aircraft had sustained no damage and had made a heavy landing on the deck when the gearbox had failed. Yes the gearbox!
Nothing was ever mentioned about this incident in relation to me suspecting that this was the problem but nevertheless, I was completely vindicated.

I would never have made a good aircrew man though and indeed after this incident and others such as metal fatigue that later that led me to be reverted back to Radio Operator.

Is Time Travel Really Possible?

Is time travel really possible?

If time travel was really possible, then we would already know. Why? Because in the words of the famous Physicist Stephen Hawking, "A time traveler would already have come back to tell us".

However, don't let that disappoint you too much. We can still use our imaginations and still get a lot of enjoyment from reading novels on the subject.

The novel that I have written is based on a true story. That is not to say that the time travel component of the book actually took place but that I use a true story as the basis for the book. All the characters are real but their names have been changed. All the locations in the book are real as are the pets but they retain their real names. In fact if you wished to visit the locations described in the book, you could do so.

This is my first attempt at writing a novel but I chose to write it by using as much of my real life experiences as was possible. In fact the very first person to review the book seemed to be convinced that I had indeed traveled back in time, back to a day of my choosing in order to put right something that I have wished I could do for many years. I don't write in a sensationalist way. I don't write to impress; nor do I use flowery language. I just write to tell a story of a naive young boy inflamed with passion for a young girl I loved a long time ago.

The large imposing Grandfather clock also exists today and features strongly in the storyline. The book titled "Inside the Clock" is available in the Amazon Kindle Store

(Please be aware that you do not need a Kindle to read this book) All you need is the Kindle app which will enable you to read Kindle books on your computer or phone etc. For information on how to do this, just follow this link: Kindle For Computer

Go on, give it a go. You never know it might change your life as it did mine.

Turning the clock back

Turning The Clock Back

If you could turn the clock back, to what particular day or period would it be? I sometimes love to dwell on this question. What would you be able to do? Would you prevent that fatal accident of a friend or put that lottery ticket in that had all the right numbers that you lost. There are so many things that you could do.

Would you go back to make more of your parents and argue less? Would you try to get on with your sister? The list goes on and on but of course it's too late now to change any of that and even if you could, would it be dangerous?

We've all seen the film "Back to the Future" and look at some of the consequences that transpired in that. It was utter chaos for a while but it was such an intriguing movie. That's the problem you see, change only a small thing and it could have massive consequences later on.

If you have regrets in your life, then try to come to terms with them. If you could change that fatal day, then it could have had even more fatal consequences later on. It's just the way it is but anyway, it's just an academic exercise.

But thinking about this, is it possible to change the future rather than wishing you could change the past? What do I mean? Well it will take self control but picture this scenario; you are in a car and someone cuts you up or annoys you to the extreme. Road rage takes over and you find yourself making dangerous manoeuvres just to get even. The consequences could be dire as you tend to do things in anger that you may regret later on. Although it's easier said than done, don't you think that it would be a lot better just to let it go instead. Many a person has wished they had.

So in a sense, this is how history can be changed. It is a case of self control and wisdom, to pre-empt a situation. Of course life being what it is, things will happen that are out of your control and one must accept that things happen regardless and these things must be accepted but whatever is within your power to do for the better, then do this. At least you will know it wasn't your fault and you can rest assured that you could have done no more.

As a consequence of writing this article, I have been inspired to write a novel addressing some of the above. It is based upon real life events which actually occurred and I have used these as a basis for the novel. All the characters and all the locations are real. When you read this book, you the reader must decide just what is fiction and what is real. "Inside the Clock" is a short story available on Amazon Kindle Store.