Book Title

The release of my book which is largely based on this blog is imminent. I am yet to choose a title. The book highlights how where we begin does not have to determine our journey through life. There are stories within the book that show how certain choices have lead to the death of good friends and also to unimaginable success of others. Much of the book uses boxing as a 'backdrop' to the stories and it also takes you on a journey through my life and how I struggled with my identity, confidence and my education. It also shows how I came to be a boxing and kickboxing champion', started my own business, become an Olympic torchbearer and surprisingly a town councillor. I thrive on changing lives and this what I would like the book to do At the moment the book is called 'Choices That Determine Our Journey' Can you think of a better title based on the information above?

Choose your journey

I started this Blogspot on the 7th March 2011 and have written 42 posts over 2 years and 8 months.The blog has had more than 20,000 hits in that time and on the whole, judging by the comments, has been positively received.  Although they were not all great pieces of work, and I cringe at some when reading them back,  I linked the post to Facebook and sometimes Google + and Twitter to maximise their audience. I also gave some posts provocative titles to develop more interest from my prospective audience.

Spit n Sawdust

I stopped writing the blog regularly once I decided that I wanted to write a book that will be somewhat based on the blog.  Since I stopped writing the blog, I have become immersed in my book writing and now spend between 1 and 4 hours a day writing.  The book is now in it's final stages and I will be going to Italy to finish the draft on the 9th November before talking to a number of editors, publishers and literary agents, that I have contacted using Linkedin over the past couple of years. I hope to have a book launch some time in the new year.

Phillip Panadher a good friend
& victim of a drugs overdose

The reason I started the book was to show a wider audience that their life is in their own hands.  It is story based, and will tell of stories of how 'real people' and their choices have steered their lives.  The stories show the journeys that friends, family and some famous people have made and how events have shaped their lives. Not all of stories have a happy ending and most of the journeys are still in progress.  Some journeys are making good progress and some not so good and some sadly ended whilst I was writing this book.

Some of the boxers that have been through Spit n Sawdust

My purpose in writing this blog and the book has never changed.  From my gym I believe I change lives by giving peoples lives a purpose.  The book is aimed at helping redirect people, who seem to have lost their way, and show them a journey that helps them understand among other things, that they don't have to let other peoples opinion of them become their reality; and that we can all achieve far more than we realise.