***

When I was seventeen I walked out of high school under a cloud, and on my eighteenth birthday ran away to enlist in the Royal Canadian Air Force, In boot camp on Day One, at the bottom of the ladder, lowest f the low, I was abruptly introduced to a challengiing life of discipline, physical effort, teamwork, drill and regulations. Almost as quickly I picked up pride in the uniform and in myself, pride in duty, honour, fidelity, and high princille. Eight years later I was commisioned from the ranks, so I experienced military life from two quite distinct perspectives. Eventually I resigned my commission to study veterinary medicine, and have been in active practice since graduation in 1977. I retired in October 2009.

Fifteen years in uniform left a profound, subtle stamp on me. Everything I have done in my life, and the way I do it, reflects that early training, which is subliminal and etched in steel.

Never married, I came very close twice. The first was Johnny, who died in an air crash. The second was a fellow officer in Officers' Training School who, it turned out, already had a wife. Both men were ideal to me, and from them I held too high a standard for other men to follow.

I have been writing fiction since I was twelve years old. Sold a novel to Doubleday New York in 1964 while still in uniform. One letter, manuscript attached, was all it took. Today, of course, Doubleday don't know who I am. How the publishing world has changed!