People fascinate me, that’s half the reason I write

I was walking my dog recently and she started playing with another dog.

My heart froze as the other dog walker looked at me smiling and said: ‘we’re walking the same way, we can have a natter as they play.’ 

I’m an introvert. I could happily go for days or weeks without speaking to anyone outside of my immediate family.

I’m generally bad at small talk… I’m awkward, I’m uncomfortable and I want it to stop. I’ll pretty much do anything to avoid it, in fact. 

But here’s the thing, thi...