Sir Steve Redgrave

The latest big name to come on board the book is Sir Steve Redgrave, and I had the pleasure of meeting up with him in Marlow this week. This is great for the profile of the new book, and it will also be a particularly interesting chapter to write with my late father's rowing background. He was an absolute gent and was happy to stay and have an 30 minute chat where we covered all types of stuff. It was really interesting to know how many names from the world of rowing we shared from his days of rowing at Marlow, and my association with Maidenhead Rowing Club through my dad. He was happy to pose with the Beating Bowel Cancer tie smartly tied to his statue :)

So the quest for more people continues, and I am still hoping to try and get Matthew Pinsent to come on board, which would really be the icing on the cake in terms of rowing. I still have Alan Davies, Freya North and Kirsty Duffy to do, and I still have a few irons in the fire.

I would also love to get an English cricketer to tale part. My own choice would be Michael Vaughan the former England captain, but so far my efforts to get him have been in vain. In anyone would like to join me in trying to persuade him to take part, please let me know :)

British Superbikes

Another great day with another chapter for the new book completed at the British Superbikes at Thruxton. I was invited there by Norma de Bidaph who runs the Gearlink Kawasaki team with her husband Michael. The day gave me the opportunity to not just photograph the bikes on the track, but also to meet Norma who has fought bowel cancer. 

The chapter will tell the story of the day, the challenges I faced photographing these machines travelling at up to 200mph, and how I came into contact with Norma who is the most remarkable woman! 

I took loads of photos with the aim of getting the Gearlink riders for the chapter in the book. This photo is a non Gearlink photo so it will not make the book, but the question is did I get any photos of the Gearlink team good enough to put in the book? There will be one to find out! :)

Going Spanish

The Website babelcube.com puts authors in touch with translators who do exactly that. A Spanish translator got in touch with me through the site, and has offered to translate the first book. The good news is that there is no outlay involved, and the translator gets a percentage of any sales so it looks like its win win win! Reaching a Spanish speaking and reading audience is potentially very exciting from the sales point of view, and increasing the book's profile. As you can see from the photo the first of the book has already been done. I though it amusing that I had to check the first ten pages for approval when I literally can't read a word of the language! I wonder if any other languages will happen...