My Doppelganger

   Many decades ago, in the days before discos, I discovered I had a Doppelganger. I was catching my breath between dances when this girl popped up beside me. ‘Hello!’ she said. ‘Haven’t seen you for ages. How’s your poor Mum?’

Well, Mum had had a slight cold but she was well past the sodden tissue stage. I didn’t recognise the girl but I’d never been good at putting names and faces together, so ‘She’s fine,’ I said.

The girl – Miriam, I found out - went on to mention various friends we had in common. I’d never heard of any of them but I spent so much time with my head buried in books that I could easily have mislaid a few acquaintances. So I went along with it and we had quite a nice chat. 

Over the next couple of months we bumped into each other several times and I got quite skilled at picking up clues and discussing our mutual ‘friends’. The last time I saw Miriam I was lying on a stretcher, having given blood and feeling quite drained, when I heard a voice from the next stretcher.

‘Hello! Fancy meeting you here!’ It was Miriam.

The chances of having an exact double are estimated at up to three trillion to one, and I never did discover the identity of my Doppelganger, our mutual friend, but more than half a century later the memory led me to write my latest novel.

‘The Boy With My Face’ is the story of Simon, a lonely 13-year-old who sees a photo in a newspaper of a runaway who looks exactly like him. It’s a gripping and emotional family mystery, full of plot twists and cliffhangers.

For readers of 12 years and upwards, it’s available from Amazon in both paperback and e-book.