Meet the author - My life so far....

Born: in Germany, father headmaster, mother unpaid P.A to headmaster Childhood: great Career aspiration: teaching. First paid job: at age 7, teaching 6-year-old to read Further studies: Hamburg University Personal matters: marriages: 2, Divorces: 1, Widowed: once, Children: 2 Relocations: London, Zambia, South Africa, Spain Career moves: teacher, sales trainer, training manager, sales director, MD, deckhand on sailboat, writer/author Most recent addition: producer of language learning DVDs

A day in the life of Elisabeth Smith

06.45 Semi -conscious. “Those black-out curtains don’t work”. Brain scanning for impending disasters and scrolling
         down to do-list.

07.05 Remove cup collection from office bombsite to hoarse screech of internet dial-up.

07.07 Emails popping up.

07.15 To-do list now threatens to fall off page.

07.30 Decide against jog on paseo.

07.31 Change mind on jog, or blood pressure will go through roof.

08.15 Remove cat from keyboard. Start on deadline-on-my-back script for Italian DVD.

08.16 Have horrible anti oxidant, free radicals destroying tea.

08.30 Younger daughter on phone offloading weight on soul. Decline her invitation to board rescued dog and fund plastic
         fingernails.

08.40 Cat has changed screensaver from tropical island to green hill!??

08.43 Start serious attempt at deadline-on-my-back script. Delete previous page. Calculate script to be three years late.

09.05 Have writer’s block

09.11 Knock off 4 items on to-do list to cheer myself up. More emails and frozen food delivery van appear
         simultaneously.

09.47 Unblock writer’s block. Continue with deadline-in-the-neck script to phone ringing. Elder daughter
         (Yuppy, London) demands instant opinion on in-company power struggle.

10.03 Continue writing to banging on garden gate, phone ringing and incontinent rescued dog appearing at desk. Have
         gas tank filled to telesales drive and row with daughter No 2.

10.21 Write nice little page while gloom-and-doom electrician appears to fix gate and tinker with lights. Decide to rewire
         whole place when finished script.

10.46 Deal with crisis items on to-do list.

11.59 Phone call from friend needing return of electric saw while just getting into writing mode. Hear other call on
         line and manage to lose both.

12.01 Press on writing with threatening wasp in curtain and more emails arriving.

13. 52 To-do list now reads 14 + 7 - 4- 6 + 4 = 15

13.53 Gloomy electrician demands cash payment. Bank closes at 2 pm and drive takes 8 minutes in optimum conditions.