And then there was Carole, a divorcee two years younger than him, and suddenly everything changed.
Their bond was immediate and intense. The problem was that one day, Carole would need John, both physically and emotionally, the next, she would be secretive, cool and distant.
To make things more difficult, John had been registered as blind since 1979; nevertheless, during the sixteen turbulent months chronicled within this book, he travelled to Paris, Amsterdam and Singapore and made many close female friends, but Carole had stolen his heart.
This is the true account* of a sixteen-month relationship that changed John’s life dramatically.
Look for the reason why this book is titled Necklaces & Knickers. It evokes great memories for the author.
* Names have been changed to protect individuals’ true identities.
John Stephen Raynor born in 1944 in Oldham Lancashire was diagnosed with a serious progressive eye condition retinitis pigmentosa.
At fifteen, he began working in architecture, eventually becoming a self-employed software developer and marrying his first wife in 1967. Sadly, the long hours building up his business took their toll, and the couple separated in 1989.
It was in the Philippines he found his soul mate, whom he married in 1993. Her experiences are the inspiration for much of John’s fictional work including his novel Cotabato Girl.
After twenty years of keeping diaries, John drew on these to publish Necklaces & Knickers – one of two autobiographical works describing this most traumatic period.
Registered blind since the age of thirty-five, John relies on his computer with speech synthesis for software development and creative writing.