"In the spring of 2004, I walked alone from Land's End to John O'Groats on a sponsored walk that raised over £5000 for various local charities. A lot of this money came from the villagers of Adfa, Newtown, who held a Bingo night and auction sale to support me.

While I was still at the planning stage, I thought it would be a good idea to try and write a book about the experience, if only for my own satisfaction. I worked out the structure of the book, using lines from songs as chapter headings, and decided to include various anecdotes from my life - things which led, directly or indirectly, to my determination to do the walk. Some of these I wrote, in draft form, before I began the walk.

Every evening, while I was on my journey, I made sure that I found time to write my diary - it was the only way to ensure that I remembered all the details. The diary was in abbreviated form, using simple phrases instead of full sentences. This could then be expanded later.

I set myself a target of finishing the book within a year of completing the walk. It split naturally into day-long chunks, and I found that the words flowed fairly easily as I re-lived the experience. I prefer to write in longhand initially, then fine-tune it while keying it into the computer. Background information about the places I went through was researched and added afterwards.

Having finished the book, the next task was to find a publisher. After several rejections, Pegasus offered me a deal whereby I had to provide a financial contribution, which I understand is a common practice for first-time authors. I decided to accept, knowing that I would regret it if I turned it down.

The publishing process has been an exciting and fulfilling experience, and although mistakes were made along the way, overall I am pleased with the finished product."

Article written by Kath Jones