Hi, I'm finally Introducing myself, and looking to connect with fellow creatives, entrepreneurs, and those interested in self-development and improvement.

Hello Steemit community, my name is Anthony Sunderland, but you can call me Tony, although I've often been called worse.

My Story So Far

I joined the REME corps of the British army straight from school - and boy, can I tell some stories from my time there that will make your hair curl @-) !

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Image sourced from: commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:REME_Cap_Badge_1945.jpg icensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license. By Tfitzp [CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], from Wikimedia Commons

I then served my apprenticeship as an electrician in a textile mill in LuddendenFoot. Difficult enough writing it; just wait till you try to say it. It would give the poor lass who had to type the subtitles for Jodie Whitaker nightmares.
The locals call it Lud Foot; and I can assure you, that's not an agricultural disease :-)

SOURCE: Rochdale Canal, Luddenden Foot
cc-by-sa/2.0 - © Paul Glazzard - geograph.org.uk/p/391753

My Big Dream

I was inspired to start writing sci fi many years ago. Who said no good came from watching the idiot box?

To be honest, I've been dabbling for most of that time, , although I have been to many workshops, classes, and conferences; here in the Uk as well as Sante Fe and San Diego, and helped a friend organise and run his comedy conferences and be his web master.

I've also written 3 full length screenplays, treatments for several others, several shorts, have design concepts created for a graphic novel series, and publish 4 novellas and 6 short stories on the Kindle; but I still feel like I've been playing about rather than being fully committed

Floored By A Serious Illness

I suffered a stroke in May 2017 that put me in hospital for a month, off work for 5, meant I lost my driving licence, and impaired my cognitive ability for many months.

SOURCE:

Calderdale Royal Hospital
cc-by-sa/2.0 - © Mark Anderson - geograph.org.uk/p/22940

What a massive kick in the butt.
I finally realise that there's no time to waste if I'm to achieve my dream of becoming the next Andy Weir, Hugh Howey, sir Arthur C. Clark, Gene Roddenberry, or the meister that is joss whedon.

I'm working on editing the Destiny's Daughter novellas I've written, completing season 1, plotting out future books, completing the epic sci fi quest series '59 and its spin-offs, writing the short story series 1st Contact Group, and novels: Saving CiCi, Breathe, The Button, The vault - and a spin-off series.

Also a horror script set around the LuddendenFoot area

Why I'm Here

I read a brilliant and informative guide to this site from Helen Doherty (@hopehuggs) and Jeremy kennedy, and after lurking for a few weeks and reading many of the excellent posts, I've finally decided to take the plunge.

Thanks also to George Donnelly (@georgedonnelly) for his invaluable advice and feedback.

What I'll Be Posting

My posts will be short stories or extracts from full length ones, book reviews, updates on my publishing journey, and current business ventures - after all, I've still got to eat and keep a roof over my head while I'm waiting for Mr. Bezos to send my royalty checks - along with extracts from classic self-improvement books and my musings on them

P.S. The songs for me that really talk about the heart, and art, of what it means to be a creative, and I think, really sum me up, are: 'This is The Sea' by The WaterBoys, and. 'I Am, I Said,' by the legendary Neil Diamond.

If you're not familiar with these songs, and why the hell not? have a listen then please reply to this post and tell me, and the community, what song(s) have deep meaning to you and why.