Guest post from Mike Murtagh.

The D-Day Anniversary this year marks a year since the lovely people at Pan & Sword were kind enough to publish my memoir, Spying On The Kremlin. The whole thing has been quite an experience! The book was originally conceived as a contribution to the family archive. It was only through the encouragement of others, following a series of postings on Facebook, that I thought it might be worth organising my memories in a more systematic fashion, and looking into the possibility of approaching a publisher to take things further. It was a real shot in the dark for me, as I was a complete novice! I duly submitted my manuscript to a few publishers before, to my amazement, I received a positive response from Pen & Sword.

The book is not in the form of a comprehensive autobiography, detailing every minute of my life in a seamless narrative. Rather, it is a series of what might be considered as vignettes covering what I believe to have been significant turning points and more interesting events that have cropped up in my life. My mind works in mysterious ways. It has been pointed out to me that that a lot of the events related in the book are unusual and not the sort of thing that happens to most people. I genuinely could not get my head around this for quite a while! I took some convincing but the penny finally dropped and I consider myself a very lucky man!

I think it was because I have not been in jobs that have been inherently exciting or dangerous, like being a member of aircrew or Special Forces. Most of the best bit happened to me almost accidentally and unintentionally. I seem to have blundered into things in a Forrest Gump-like manner! I also consider that I am lucky to be alive, having come through more than my fair share of near-death experiences, considering the ostensibly rather mundane nature of my careers in the RAF and Diplomatic Service at home and overseas.

I have to put in a word for the people at Pen & Sword who have patiently mentored me over the past year, answering my really basic questions and guiding me through the various stages in the life of a book. They have really been a joy to work with and I would thoroughly recommend Pen & Sword to any aspiring author. Go on! Take a chance and grab your opportunity! What’s the worst that can happen? If you’re aiming to publish something, refusals are routine, I promise you!

Actually, the principle of grasping opportunities if they present themselves is one that has governed and still governs my approach to life, even after all these years. We’re dead a long time! The adventures and various scrapes that I got into were not good for my two main careers, but I have had a hell of a time doing them and would not have had it any other way, for the most part. If you read my book, I hope you enjoy the ride!

Order your copy here.