STEVE CHILTON

Hello. I hope I am the author you think I am. That is, not the Steve Chilton who writes about fell running, nor the Steve Chilton who fronts a Pink Floyd tribute band.

At best, I can manage the local 5k Park Run while humming 'See Emily Play'. Breathlessly.

I am, though, the writer of Walking Keef's Dog and Other Short Stories, my first foray into fiction despite groundless accusations to the contrary during a long career in journalism.

That was spent mainly in regional newspapers, particularly the Coventry Telegraph where I worked as a reporter, news editor, features editor and columnist. Not all at the same time, although it often felt like it.

Some of the stories in Walking Keef's Dog take as a starting point a real event and then wander off into the realms of fantasy. But only just. Sort of factionally offside. There's far more fun to be had if, in a half- awake dreamworld, you can hop across the borders of reality at will. Taking a few pot shots along the way.

I live in the West Midlands, so there is no shortage of local targets. But there are times when the temptation to stray farther leads you off the rails.

In my case, pairing Oscar Wilde and Jim Morrison together for a duet in a Paris cemetery for The Ballad of Jim and Oscar, one of the 10 stories in the collection.

That's what happens when you get locked in the provinces. First trip abroad and you lose all reason.

I was born in Coventry, midway between cathedrals. That is, after the destruction of the medieval St Michael's in 1940 and before the consecration of its replacement in 1962.

Still live there, clinging to the hope that one day civic planners will one day get something right.

If you've got this far and are still undecided whether it is your cash or me who should be committed, have a look at my website www.redbutton2.com where you'll find extracts of four stories. Or click onto the Kindle version and read one complete story free.

Thank you. Steve.