Having now written books on various topics, it occurred to me recently that I’ve often referred to my time in retail and said, ‘I could write a book about it.’ It was, after all, my second career, which is why I’ve already used A Life of Choice as the title, with The Retail Years as a sub-title.

In less time than it took to drink a cup of coffee, I recalled the handful of companies I worked for, and each was different. Within the hour, I was strolling through the nearby woodland, my favourite place to free up my imagination. An abundance of anecdotes surfaced for each company.

Considering such a story is one thing, but would it a viable project?

My job title changed as I moved from one company to another, and with each title came authority and responsibilities. During my 23-year military career, I was no stranger to such things, and, of course, I understood organisation and the need for an established hierarchy. As much as I tried, nothing could have prepared me for the reality of working in ‘Civvy Street’.

Over the coming weeks I’ll create a framework for the story, and while it may cover a similar length of time to my military career, it will be compiled as one, or at most, two, volumes. The content will cover such things as Training, Customer Service, Staff Training, Discipline and the occasional foray into company and workplace politics.

The preparation will be my background project while I continue to work on my latest novel, Another Taste of Honey, and Harriet, a collection of short stories.

 Like any author, I don’t know if an idea will work until I try it. As always, I’m open to feedback, so please let me know if you think the idea has any promise.