Richard Gosset has just had his first book published.
A LONG train journey and a bundle of 'Post -It' notes led to a life changing experience for a Ninfield resident.
Richard Gosset has just had his first book published.
'Eli, Eel of Ely', tells the story of an adventurous eel and his journey through life
He was inspired to write the book, 'a work of fiction wrapped liberally in fact' by his experiences as an angler on local waterways.
Richard became fascinated by the eel - 'Anguila Anguila' - which spawns in the Sargasso Sea before finding its way on the Gulf Stream to Europe where it enters our rivers, lakes and canals.
And he found plenty of time to put his thoughts on to paper during his daily train journey to work from Battle to Charing Cross.
Richard, who moved to the village in 1993 with wife Janine and sons James, Daniel and Nicholas, said: "I still belong to the Southdown Angling Association and do occasionally still wander the wonders of the watersides.
"This particular hobby led to recall certain fish catches and unique flashes of nature that make up special memories of angling. One in particular was an observation of the lifestyle of our dear eels which, apart from their stunning life cycle, reproductive originality and location thousands of miles from our shores, rivers, lakes and land drains, was the undeniable fact they may also travel 'topside' amongst us homo sapiens.
"The initial amazement of the lifecycle of the eel, the bi-mobility and my angling hobby together with the natural wonders of nature and natural events that only such as anglers are best placed to observer, led only to one thing, 'Eli, Eel of Ely.'"
Richard spent two years jotting his thoughts on to Post-Its and copying them to A4 before transferring them to his laptop, usually between the hours of 10pm and 2am.
His hard work almost came to nothing though as he struggled to find a publisher, until Publish America gave him a contract with an advance as consideration.
Richard, who retired as a bank manager last year and now part owns his own company, added: "The finished article took another twelve months as I had to revisit the manuscript to ensure grammatical integrity plus get my sketches in a form that was compatible with Publish America technology."
"Book number two is going to be a logistical challenge as I now mostly drive to work. Maybe a voice recorder is the answer. Anyway, where there is a will, there is a way - which I know is true because I have tried it."
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Weather for Hastings
Sunday 05 February 2012
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: 1 C to 5 C
Wind Speed: 12 mph
Wind direction: North
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Light showers
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