22nd May 2022

 An emotional few weeks. First, spending precious quality time with our daughter. Zoom and Whatsapp are all very well but not the same as seeing her in the flesh, albeit fleetingly. We spent a lovely two days talking, shopping and knitting together. But that wasn’t the only emotion flooding my brain.  You may remember the origins of my writing name of Olga Swan. It isn’t just to remember my late brother Alan. Etched permanently in my brain is also my late father’s saying “if no-one remembers you after you’ve gone, what’s the point of living?” Growing up in the ‘50s, I knew our name of Olswang was unusual, so to keep the name going, it was essential for either me or my brothers to have grandchildren. But, in practice, this hasn’t happened. Both my brothers passed away childless, and neither of my children have children of their own, so what to do? The only way was via my (anagram) writing name of Olga Swan but my old publisher had closed down, limiting my marketing possibilities. Step forward a wonderful traditional publisher, SpellBound Books (see below). Thank you so much Sumaira. I can see my father smiling right now.