A Little Book of Pleasures

This delightful anecdotal collection, told with wry humour and a gentle, sometimes quirky style slightly

reminiscent of a bygone era, contains a mixture of description and observation, with a smattering of

autobiographical incident. William Wood has lived in many places of the world, is well travelled and well written,

with a keen sense of enjoyment of what he sees and experiences, and a talent for bringing that visually to the

mind of his reader. The short, usually self-contained pieces make wonderful cameos both for those who do their

reading in snatches, and those who will want to devour his stories in one sitting.

William Wood has led a nomadic life and his friends and relatives are far flung. He now lives and writes in

Sussex where he is a full time carer for his 91-year-old parents. When he can get away he likes visiting his

children in France, Rutland and Cumbria, or his in-laws in Norway and Slovakia. The diaries he keeps on these

visits occasionally give him local colour and ideas for his stories. If he ever makes money from his writing he

intends visiting old haunts in Africa, India and Australia – or even pastures new. For the moment, every caged

day is both an adventure and incredibly frustrating.

In addition to his Little Book of Pleasures, William writes journalistic articles. He has had stories on the BBC World

Service, and contributed to a variety of magazines and anthologies. He has also always written poems; they are,

he says, “something that has to be squeezed out like a boil to give me relief”. At university William wrote and

directed his own plays, and later worked with amateur groups in Norway.