As a child, I, like many thousand others, wanted to be an astronaut. I would write to NASA every week to ‘help’ them with ideas and I would be so excited, as they would write back. It was in one of those letters that they suggested I should write science fiction. I took the hint and stopped pestering them! Sadly, I never realised my dream to become an astronaut, but I do enjoy both flying and writing. Not at the same time, of course, for that would be dangerous and I’m sure the Civil Aviation Authority would soon withdraw my licence!