I was pleased and honoured when Steve wrote to me last week with words of praise and encouragement for my new novel The Best Year Of Our Lives.
Set in a fictitious West London town beside the Thames in 1976, the book is about a group of youngsters growing up in those balmy days - their adventures and encounters, and their strategems and struggles against other gangs for mastery of their neighbourhood. Some have described it as a pleasant reminisce whilst others see deeper themes - me, I'm happy for readers to enjoy it as they prefer.
In writing the story I drew upon the various cultural influences of the day, but in particular it lingers on the affection which the two leading characters have for the music of Steve Harley (hence the title of the book), as well as of Bowie.
Steve advises me that he will be reading the book, which he says "entertained me riotously", for the second time between rehearsals and performances in Athens - news which has given me every encouragement in my continued work.
With his kind permission I am able to link to the sales page on Amazon, which is at
https://www.amazon.co.uk/-/e/B07491RXWN. Please note that with the Kindle edition one can download a free sample (the Prologue and first eight chapters) before deciding whether or not to purchase - although please do not use the "Look Inside" link as the layout there is scrambled and bears no resemblance to how the actual product itself looks.
Please take a look. For those who do take the plunge, I hope you enjoy it and of course any feedback will always be hugely appreciated.
Thank you.
