Bowstrings, plugs, and Dirty Harry Callahan...

The year was 1973.

I was 22.

I was in The Odeon cinema Leicester Square, London. Watching the movie Magnum Force, starring Clint Eastwood as kick-ass cop Dirty Harry Callaghan.

The sequel to his more iconic movie Dirty Harry.

He still had his .44 Magnum. The most powerful handgun in the world. Well, it was then.

The famous quote from his previous outing in the movie Dirty Harry was still at the back of my mind.

"You've got to ask yourself one question. Do I feel lucky? Well, do ya, punk?"

But it was the last line of this new movie that would stick in my mind for much longer.

"A man's got to know his limitations."

I thought Harry got that one wrong. Dead wrong. Damned wrong.

I thought it was all kinds of wrong way back then...and I still think so now.

If I knew my limitations, I wouldn't have changed from working in the Daily Mirror to becoming an advertising copywriter.

New bowstring.

If I knew my limitations, I wouldn't have changed from being uncomfortably single to being happily married with children.

Another bowstring.

If I knew my limitations, I wouldn't have changed from being a staffing copywriter to being a freelancer.

Another bowstring.

And if I knew my limitations, I wouldn't have changed from being a copywriter to being a copywriter AND an author.

Latest bowstring.

Now for the plug.

The year was 2017.

My first book Love & Coffee, came out on Amazon. Then came my next one, Heaven Help Us.

It's about a sentient asteroid that threatens to crash into Earth, wiping out all life.

It's a bit of a comedy.

I've often wondered where I would be, and what I would be doing, if I'd taken Harry's advice, and acknowledged my limitations.

What might have happened if I'd stayed inside the box instead of stepping outside it.

The other day a friend and ex-colleague told me that he was finally getting around to writing the book he'd been meaning to write for years.

I almost punched the air in delight.

Maybe inside us all is the desire to add another string to our bow.

Maybe somewhere inside Harry, a little voice, straight out of Sudden Impact, would drawl:

"Go ahead, make my day!"

***************************************************

You'll find my books (well...except my unpublished crime novel) on Amazon. They're very nice people, really.

Let your fingers do the walking, as they used to say, and pop along to take a sneaky peek.

They're available in print and ebook...and they're waiting just for you here...

Ad Lib: https://amzn.to/2kd4LKf.

Ad Hoc: https://amzn.to/2Nx8GL8

Ad Infinitum: https://amzn.to/3pof7Uq

Love & Coffee: https://amzn.to/28IWaHq

Heaven Help Us: https://amzn.to/2nkQ1Jk

So grab a coffee, grab a chair, and grab a sneaky peek.

Then grab a copy...