Why blow your own trumpet if you can blow your own trombone? On Sunday I had the very chance to get up there and show the world my glissando. The clip shows me performing the Muppet Theme.

There are five stories included in this ‘boxed set’. The theme is that of life and love among folk at the poorer end of society. My impression has often been that working class life is less examined by fiction than higher income groups. The more beautiful and educated are more appealing. Suave heroes and elegant heroines tread the world in pursuit of high ambitions. All the while there’s a guy pushing a broom and a woman packing boxes in a warehouse. Sadly these days the term “working class” often means those with no work or those clinging to marginal insecure jobs. There are the illegal immigrants who pick fruit, prepare meat, prop up the sex industry and rinse the rice for our gourmet restaurant dinners.

In my life I have been drawn to these situations. Seeking to be a writer I have chosen not to have a career path but to work in food processing plants, warehouses and as a bus driver. There is passion, colour and humour in these places. These stories represent what I feel has been the best of my experience. 

Here are just a couple of words about each title.

The Chosen – Two guys at the margins of society have very different ambitions. One is a cynical survivor. The other is a believer in the dream of wealth and success. They unite in a desperate throw of the dice. It’s about luck, winners and losers.

Escape To Love – A woman faces a future bringing up her handicapped child alone. In her past lies an abusive relationship from which she has escaped. When her child is rescued by a man on the run, she has the chance of a new life and love. Can she trust her own judgement? Could a new lover entirely trust her?

Angela – This is a true short story. What we believe in often affects what we see or how we interpret what we have experienced. A chauffeur encounters an enigmatic client at a point of indecision in his life.

Love In A Hopeless Place – A working class woman has settled into a resigned acceptance of the second half of her life. Suddenly she learns something about herself and of her true possibilities. Change can often engender passion and violenceA chance moment brings everything down around her and brings even further surprises.

The Love in a Hopeless Place Collection is available on Amazon Worldwide.

And of course, there is a competition. All you have to do is spot the differences…

1)How many differences are there between the first and second pictures?
2) Who is the elegant sophisticated glamour model posing in the third picture?

Enter your answers here to win your own copy of the collection and a customised iphone 5 case.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Hear some more tunes from the band as the  ‘Blowing My Own Trombone Blog Tour Continues’….