Just over two years ago, I spoke to Tom Reynolds about his blog, Random Acts of Reality, for an article.
What I remember most about the interview was how nervous he was, and how he couldn't quite work out what all the fuss was about.
I'd been reading Tom's blog for a few weeks, and was bowled over by the sheer number of arresting tales he was telling about life working for the London Ambulance Service.
It lacked the contrivance of a scripted TV drama like Casualty: this was the arbitrary mix of boredom, acts of violence and neglect, mental illness and little old ladies falling over that make up the job of an emergency medical technician.
Random Acts of Reality set the standard for other work bloggers to reach: few have written so consistently well while avoiding the trap of becoming obsessed with their own growing celebrity. So it was no surprise to me when he landed a book deal.
A lot of blogs simply don't translate into books (I can't bear to use that hideous cut-and-shunt of a word, "blooks"), but it's the power of the stories Tom tells that makes Blood, Sweat & Tea such a good read.
