These are the ones I watch every year – usually while writing cards, wrapping pressies etc.
1. Love Actually 2003
2. The Holiday 2006
3. Jack Frost 1998
4. Die Hard 1988
5. Scrooged 1988
6. Blackadder’s Christmas Carol 1988
7. A Christmas Prince 2017 (#2 2018, #3 2019)
8. The Christmas Chronicles 2018 (#2 2020)
9. Home Alone 1990 (#2 1992)
10. The Knight Before Christmas 2019
11. The Princess Switch 2018 (#2 2020, #3 2021)
12. Trading Places 1983
13. Deck the Halls 2006
And these get a look-in, too:
Your Christmas or Mine? 2022 (#2 2023)
Father Christmas is Back 2021
Klaus 2019
Jingle All the Way 1996
A Castle for Christmas 2021
Operation Christmas Drop 2020
Holidate 2020
The Family Stone 2005
Surviving Christmas 2004
Noelle 2019
Last Christmas 2019
White Christmas 1954
When I researched this, I was shocked by the total ramp-up in production of Christmas(ish) movies this millenium. This selection is only a very small sample, based on the ones I’ve actually heard of/watched. In particular, since 2014 when Hallmark, Netflix and Lifetime etc got in on the act producing dozens of “original” movies each year. Is it just me or is that the very last thing they are??? There are many more out there and if you want a more exhaustive list, I suggest you try these excellent sites: https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/guide/best-christmas-movies/ https://www.countdownuntilchristmas.com/category/christmas-movies-a-to-z/
Although you will have to spend most of your time scrolling past adverts – but hey, these good folks gotta get some ROI for the hours they’ve devoted to setting up the sites.
2020s A California Christmas 2020 Operation Christmas Drop 2020 Holidate 2020 Love Hard 2021 A Castle for Christmas 2021 Father Christmas is Back 2021 Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special 2022 Violent Night 2022 Falling for Christmas 2022 A Brush with Christmas 2022 Your Christmas or Mine? 2022 (#2 2023)
2010s Arthur Christmas 2011 Get Santa 2014 The Man Who Invented Christmas 2017 Christmas in Angel Falls 2017 A Christmas Prince 2017 (#2 2018, #3 2019) The Christmas Chronicles 2018 (#2 2020) The Princess Switch 2018 (#2 2020, #3 2021) Dr Seuss’ The Grinch 2018 Klaus 2019 Noelle 2019 Last Christmas 2019 The Knight Before Christmas 2019
2000s How the Grinch Stole Christmas 2000 Elf 2003 Love Actually 2003 Surviving Christmas 2004 The Family Stone 2005 Deck the Halls 2006 The Holiday 2006 Four Christmases 2008 Nativity 2009 (#2 2012)
1990s Home Alone 1990 (#2 1992) The Muppet Christmas Carol 1992 The Nightmare Before Christmas 1993 Miracle on 34th Street 1994 The Santa Clause 1994 Jingle All the Way 1996 Beauty & the Beast Enchanted Christmas 1997 Jack Frost 1998
1980s The Snowman 1982 Trading Places 1983 Gremlins 1984 A Muppet Family Christmas 1987 Die Hard 1988 Scrooged 1988 Blackadder’s Christmas Carol 1988 National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation 1989
1970s Scrooge 1970 Miracle on 34th Street 1973
1960s How the Grinch Stole Christmas 1967
1950s A Christmas Carol 1951 White Christmas 1954
1940s Holiday Inn 1942 Meet me in St Louis 1944 It’s a Wonderful Life 1946 Miracle on 34th Street 1947
This list is a combination of my favourites from when I was young (60s/70s), and from when my kids were young (90s). Funny how much crossover there was.
1. Lego 2. Spirograph 3. Connect Four 4. Etch-a-sketch 5. Trivial Pursuit/Monopoly 6. Twister 7. Rubik’s Cube 8. Thunderbirds Tracy Island 9. Barbie/Action Man 10. Spacehopper 11. Power Rangers 12. Matchbox cars/vehicles 13. Polly Pocket
1990s 1990 – Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles action figures, Mouse Trap, Polly Pocket 1991 – Sega Game Gear, Nintendo Gameboy, Super soaker 50 1992 – Thunderbirds Tracey Island, Weekend Barbie, WWF Action Figures 1993 – Talkbot, Action Man, Play-doh 1994 – Power Rangers Action figures, Biker Mice from Mars, Cabbage Patch Kids 1995 – Playstation, POGs, Beanie Babies 1996 – Toy Story Buzz Lightyear Action Figure, Tickle Me Elmo, Doodle Bear 1997 – Nintendo 64, Tamigotchi, Blue and Pink Model, Teletubbies 1998 – Furby, Bop It, Gameboy colour, (Teksta Robot Dog) 1999 – Pokemon (Red and Blue), Who Wants to be a Millionaire Game, Bob the Builder
1980s 1980 – Hungry Hippos board game, Lego Train set, Mr Frosty 1981 – Rubik’s Cube, He-Man, Donkey Kong 1982 – Lego 255 basic train set, BMX bike, Stompers Truck 1983 – Strawberry Shortcake, Care Bears, My Little Pony 1984 – Cabbage Patch Kids, Transformers Optimus Prime, Pound Puppies 1985 – Trivial Pursuit, Wuzzles, Pillow People 1986 – Lazer Tag, Lego Airport, My Pet Monster 1987 – Sylvanian Families, Jenga, Koosh balls 1988 – Ghostbusters Proton Park, NES Action Set, Playskool Kitchen 1989 – Batmobile, Disney Sno-Cone Castle, Talking Alf
1970s 1970 – Nerfball, Sindy, Apollo Moon Rocket 1971 – Space Hopper, Mastermind board game, Weebles 1972 – Skateboard, Uno card game, Plasticraft modelling kit 1973 – Shrinky Dinks, Evel Knievel stunt cycle, Walkie Talkie sets 1974 – Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em robots, Spirograph, Twister 1975 – Pet Rock, Pong, Othello board game 1976 – Magna Doodle, Pogo Stick, Stretch Armstrong 1977 – Atari 2600, Star Wars toys, including figurines of Luke, Darth and R2D 1978 – Connect Four, Dungeons & Dragons, Matchbox Powertrack, (Simon Says) 1979 – Strawberry Shortcake, Millenium Falcon, Sony Walkman
1960s and earlier
Lego/Meccano Construction Set
Action Man/G.I. Joe
Hot Wheels (matchbox cars)
Barbie/Sindy
Etch-a-Sketch
Monopoly
1. “I Believe in Father Christmas” Greg Lake 1975 2. “Fairytale of New York” The Pogues & Kirsty MacColl 1987 3. “Driving Home for Christmas” Chris Rea 1988 4. “Carol of the Bells” John Williams 1990 5. “A Spaceman Came Travelling” Chris de Burgh 1975 6. “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” Tom Jones & Cerys Matthews 1999 7. “Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow” Michael Bublé 2003 8. “Merry Xmas Everybody” Slade 1973 9. “Last Christmas” Wham! 1984 10. “Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy” David Bowie & Bing Crosby 1982 11. “All I Want for Christmas Is You” Mariah Carey 1994 12. “A Winter’s Tale” David Essex 1982 13. “Stop the Cavalry” Jona Lewie 1980
And because I can never contain myself in 13 (let alone 10): “Thank God It’s Christmas” Queen 1984 “Keeping the Dream Alive” Freiheit 1988 “Wonderful Christmastime” Paul McCartney 1979 “I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday” Wizzard 1973 “Step Into Christmas” Elton John 1973 “When a Child Is Born” Johnny Mathis 1976 “Christmas Day” Squeeze 2007 “Mistletoe and Wine” Cliff Richard 1988 “The Power of Love” Frankie Goes to Hollywood 1984 “Merry Christmas Everyone” Shakin’ Stevens 1985 “Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town” Bruce Springsteen 1985 “Saviour’s Day” Cliff Richard 1990 “Christmas Time” Bryan Adams 1985
Huge apologies for starting this late, but there’s plenty of opportunity for you to stuff your kindle full of great reads for those cold, wintry nights. With so many books in my back catalogue, you can pick up several bargains every day in December, and this will run well into the New Year. Merry Christmas everyone. Here’s a sample of what’s out there:
You just couldn’t write it. When I voted for my #1 hit of the 70s, 80s and 90s in the Greatest Hits poll a few weeks ago, I realised I hadn’t included this song in my list from that year. Egg all over my face. So I’ve gone back and redone the 80s charts after trawling through all their suggestions for each year. it wasn’t as bad as I thought – so far there were only 3 or 4 missing. So, for the detectives among you – can you work out which song it is? There’s a bit of a hint later on.
1. Journey – Don’t Stop Believing – 10-1981
2. Ultravox – Vienna – 02-1981
3. The Jacksons – Can You Feel It – 04-1981
4. Kim Carnes – Bette Davies Eyes – 05-1981
5. Rainbow – I Surrender – 02-1981
6. The Police – Every Little Thing She Does is Magic – 10-1981
7. Randy Crawford – You Might Need Somebody – 07-1981
8. Elvis Costello – A Good Year For The Roses – 10-1981
9. Godley & Creme – Under Your Thumb – 10-1981
10. The Look – I Am The Beat – 01-1981
11. Queen & David Bowie – Under Pressure – 11-1981
12. Phil Collins – In The Air Tonight – 01-1981
13. REO Speedwagon – Keep On Loving You – 05-1981
And the bubbling unders: Squeeze – Labelled With Love – 11-1981 Kiki Dee – Star – 03-1981 (Ariola) Dire Straits – Romeo And Juliet – 02-1981 (Vertigo) Quincy Jones – Razzamatazz – 07-1981 (A&M) Madness – It Must Be Love – 12-1981 (Stiff) John Lennon – Imagine – 01-1981 (Apple) Diana Ross & Lionel Richie – Endless Love – 09-1981 (Motown) Bob Marley & The Wailers – No Woman No Cry – 07-1981 (Island) Sugar Minott – Good Thing Going (We’ve Got A Good Thing Going) – 04-1981 (RCA) Julio Iglesias – Begin The Beguine (Volver A Empezar) – 11-1981 (CBS) Imagination – Body Talk – 07-1981 (R&B) The Pointer Sisters – Slow Hand – 09-1981 (Planet) Cliff Richard – Wired For Sound – 09-1981 (EMI) The Human League – Don’t You Want Me – 12-1981 (Virgin)
1982 – Top13
I would hazard a guess that my 80s memories are not the same as the true aficionados of that era – I really wasn’t into the whole New Romantic scene at the time, however compared to the last couple of decades, their songs did have some merit, and quite a few are creeping in as the decade progresses. I dare say that if I’d done this at the time, the songs would all be there, but maybe in a different order because I wasn’t making it to anything like as many discos/nightclubs back then.
1. PhD – I Won’t Let You Down – 05-1982 (WEA) 2. Toni Basil – Mickey – 03-1982 (Radialchoice) 3. Foreigner – Waiting For A Girl Like You – 01-1982 (Atlantic) 4. The Stranglers – Golden Brown – 01-1982 (Liberty) 5. Irene Cara – Fame – 07-1982 (RSO) 6. Chicago – Hard To Say I’m Sorry – 10-1982 (Full Moon) 7. Dexy’s Midnight Runners – Come On Eileen – 07-1982 (Mercury) 8. Dire Straits – Private Investigations – 09-1982 (Vertigo) 9. Marvin Gaye – (Sexual) Healing – 11-1982 (CBS) 10. Fat Larry’s Band – Zoom – 10-1982 (Virgin) 11. Daryl Hall & John Oates – Maneater – 11-1982 (RCA) 12. Joan Jett & The Blackhearts – I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll – 05-1982 (Epic) 13. XTC – Senses Working Overtime – 02-1982 (Virgin)
The J. Geils Band – Centrefold – 02-1982 (EMI America) Madness – Our House – 12-1982 (Stiff) David Bowie & Bing Crosby – Peace On Earth/Little Drummer Boy – 12-1982 (RCA) Phil Collins – You Can’t Hurry Love – 12-1982 (Virgin) Survivor – Eye Of The Tiger – 08-1982 (Scotti Brothers) Clannad – Theme From Harry’s Game – 11-1982 (RCA) Duran Duran – Hungry Like The Wolf – 06-1982 (EMI) Kid Creole & The Coconuts – Annie I’m Not Your Daddy – 10-1982 (Ze) Jon & Vangelis – I’ll Find My Way Home – 01-1982 (Polydor) Shakatak – Easier Said Than Done – 02-1982 (Polydor) Charlene – I’ve Never Been To Me – 06-1982 (Motown) Kids From ‘Fame’ – Starmaker – 10-1982 (RCA) The Jam – Town Called Malice/Precious – 02-1982 (Polydor) Kool & The Gang – Get Down On It – 01-1982 (De-Lite) Paul McCartney & Stevie Wonder – Ebony And Ivory – 04-1982 (Parlophone) Tears For Fears – Mad World – 10-1982 (Mercury) Bucks Fizz – My Camera Never Lies – 04-1982 (RCA) Chas & Dave – Ain’t No Pleasing You – 04-1982 (Rockney)
Again, Nanowrimo is eating up every spare second of my days, so here’s a cheeky recap of the 80s which I first put up here last October. Here’s the first one in a new decade when disco and funk are replaced with rock and punk:
1. Styx – Babe – 01-1980 2. Randy Crawford – One Day I’ll Fly Away – 09-1980 3. Martha & The Muffins – Echo Beach – 04-1980 4. Police – Don’t Stand So Close To Me – 09-1980 5. Billy Joel – It’s Still Rock And Roll To Me – 09-1980 6. David Bowie – Ashes To Ashes – 08-1980 7. Billy Preston & Syreeta – With You I’m Born Again – 01-1980
8. The Pretenders – Talk Of The Town – 04-1980
9. Queen – Another One Bites The Dust – 09-1980
10. Rainbow – All Night Long – 03-1980
11. Cliff Richard – Carrie – 02-1980 12. Dennis Waterman – I Could Be So Good For You – 11-1980 13. Marti Webb – Take That Look Off Your Face – 03-1980
And a few which deserve an honorary mention: Sheena Easton – 9 to 5 (Morning Train) – 08-1980 Michael Jackson – She’s Out Of My Life – 05-1980 Judas Priest – Breaking The Law – 06-1980 Liquid Gold – Dance Yourself Dizzy – 03-1980 Don McLean – Crying – 06-1980 New Muzik – Living By Numbers – 02-1980 Olivia Newton-John/The Electric Light Orchestra – Xanadu – 07-1980 The Nolans – I’m In The Mood For Dancing – 01-1980 Odyssey – Use It Up And Wear It Out – 07-1980 Saxon – 747 (Strangers In The Night) – 07-1980 Barbra Streisand – Woman In Love – 10-1980 Jona Lewie – Stop The Cavalry – 12-1980 John & Yoko & The Plastic Ono Band – Happy Xmas (War Is Over) – 12-1980
My 80s
I’ve always maintained the 80s was one of the busiest decades of my life, chock-a-bloc full of major events every two years. These are some highlights:
1980 – Finally left the family home to live in a tiny bedsit in Cov. Independence: Yay! Lack of creature comforts: Boo!
One of my strongest memories of my first foray into adulthood was how much all the “sundries” cost. Washing up liquid, loo roll and bin liners – who knew these things didn’t grow on trees? But the biggest shock was having to buy a broom and dustpan and brush.
1982 – Graduated from what is now Coventry University with a degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering – the first local female to do so. Although it was a hardware degree, my first job writing telecoms software showed me how much more I preferred this, and I spent a total of 23 years working for GEC Telecoms, which eventually became Marconi.
1984 – Having returned to my childhood town, Warwick, the terraced house I bought last year for £21K, went up for sale. It sold quickly for 22K, but the real kicker was six months later, the identical house next door sold for 65k. Bummer!
1986 – A magical year when my man and I travelled to Crete in May where he proposed. Four months later, we got married and honeymooned in Corfu. Something about a Greek island …
1988 – I’ll never forget 23/7/88, sending my hubby in to work the Saturday morning overtime at 8am, then spending most of the morning howling like a dog as the contractions grew stronger. By 11am, I’d had enough and called him back. We got to the hospital with minutes to spare as I was 10cm dilated, and our firstborn, Chris, popped out half an hour later at 12:30 on his due date. Utterly charmed, and he definitely lived up to the adage “Saturday’s child works hard for a living.”
1989 – In theory, the “every 2 years” thing should have meant 1990, but Joanna didn’t quite go the distance, popping out a month early on November 30th. As I remember, she took her time, waiting to make her grand appearance while Mike Baldwin did the dirty on Deidre Barlow. Being born on a Thursday (and being a Sagi) gave a bit of a clue to her wanderlust. She spent several years in France (where she met and married a marvellous Ukrainian, Artem) and has moved four times since returning to the UK.
These are some of my iconic memories of the 80s – what are yours? I’d love to hear what this era of big shoulderpads, even bigger hair and legwarmers meant to you.
NanoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) is taking up all my time this month as I try to do 2000 words a day – average so far is 1948. So as a bit of a cheat, here’s an extract from Time After Time to give a flavour of Kev’s continuing sleuthing efforts – only this time it’s a tad more personal.
Enjoy!
Star-date: 6/6/88 Mission: Secondary recon Objective: Verify Thanks to the sheer brilliance of an inspiration which had Kev checking the calendar in the nursery before rolling the dice for his second sojourn, he had complete confidence in several hours of uninterrupted sleuthing. Nevertheless, inbuilt caution had him checking the front drive to confirm the lack of vehicles and pausing on the landing, listening for any signs of other people in the house. After a few minutes he reckoned the calendar entry was valid and his folks were indeed at the hospital as it indicated. It all stacked up with what he remembered of his ma – she definitely had health problems, so severe no one ever mentioned it. Possibly as a result of her misuse of drugs in her teens. As he retrieved the hook and pulled down the attic hatch, he speculated about the likelihood that his anger issues might have been triggered or even caused by this. From what Georgie said, Isaac’s stunned growth was the direct result of his parent’s drug-misuse. His first thought on entering was how dark his folks’ attic was – and much smaller than he remembered. But then he only had Isaac’s enormous space to compare it to. Memories flooded back of many years providing the muscle for his ma, usually in retrieving the Christmas tree and decorations on November 30th and returning them on January 6th. A single, low-wattage lightbulb made a half-hearted job of piercing the blackness, so he used his phone torch to read the labelled boxes. As the low battery warning beeped, he cursed, trying to remember which direction hid the most-likely stack of personal memorabilia. Despite Ma’s infrequent attempts to bring some sense of order to the space, too many things barely made it more than a step from the top of the ladder before being dumped. He’d probably been the worst offender when he lived there, and now he understood the implications of his laziness as he stumbled over things cluttering his path. No doubt a result of his da’s similar failure to do the job properly.
Right now, two decades prior to his excursions into the attic, he saw no evidence of areas reserved for suitcases and camping gear, obsolete furnishings or outgrown toys and games. Even the Christmas stuff was scattered around – the boxes instantly recognisable due to the square of his ma’s favourite wrapping paper taped to the outside. The purple and silver baubles on a pink background had always seemed incongruous – not a holly leaf in sight, let alone the traditional red, gold and green. But Ma had never been one to conform – probably where he got it from. Although she did have the same logical reasoning. The thought did the trick, leading him to the furthest corner from the ladder – the most obvious place for her to store something she didn’t reckon on accessing often.
With time – or at least his ability to search – running out, he wasted no effort on the boxes labelled school and uni stuff. His instincts said they probably did what it said on the can. Then his torch picked out exactly what he expected: the equivalent of his memorabilia box, larger than a shoebox and covered in girly wrapping paper. The lid sported a picture of some obscure 70s band he didn’t recognise, lovingly covered in once clear plastic, now slightly opaque after so many years.
He paused before opening the lid; this was a massive invasion of his ma’s privacy. A female voice – not quite Georgie’s or Jen’s, but somewhere in between – asked how he would feel if someone rifled through his private stuff. His knee-jerk reaction was that he had nothing to hide; his life was an open book. Another, much more honest, voice, reminded him it hadn’t always been that way. Maybe back then, when he had things he wasn’t proud of, he’d have minded. But he certainly wasn’t daft enough to keep barely-concealed evidence. And neither was his ma.
This thought spurred him to lift the lid and, as he might have expected from her superior organisational skills, the thing was full to bursting with neatly-packed bundles. Switching off the battery-hungry torch on his phone, he took the box over to the lightbulb.
Using memory tricks, he memorised the position of the inevitable stash of mix tapes, bundle of heart-strewn valentine’s cards tied with a red ribbon, and a small pile of letters. How many of these bore German stamps on the thin, pale-blue paper? The return address, in strong, neat handwriting he recognised as male, belonged to a lad who signed himself Helmut with a Munich address. He never knew she had a German pen pal. Why would he?
Underneath these were a couple of diaries from 1973, and 76, and an A5 scrapbook, the front of which had a crazy montage of pictures of two girls, one skinny scarecrow with a cheeky grin, the other a dark haired beauty in a leotard. The sound of the front door slamming made him jump, and he nearly lost his grip on the box. Wtf?
“Only me.” The distinctive voice of his grandma Edie had him choking back a gasp. She mustn’t find him here. Peering out of the opening, he couldn’t see enough of the staircase to pin-point her exact whereabouts, but he knew enough to figure she’d not come empty-handed, and her first destination would be the kitchen. Sure enough, the noises coming from that direction suggested cupboards being opened and goodies being stashed. When she finished that, she had only to glance up the stairs to see the loft-hatch open and the ladder hanging down. That would be game over; she’d know someone else was in the house.
He had two choices: try to return the box and scramble down the ladder before she came out of the kitchen, or pull up the ladder and wait it out till she’d gone. Either way would result in the risk of her hearing the dreadful graunching sound the loft ladder made when it was stowed. And the second option would result in the hook hanging down in plain sight. Unless he ran down and got it before hauling the ladder up. He knew the racket increased the further it was from its regular lubrication – could he take a chance on it being recently oiled? His memory refused to supply the information about how loud it had been when he pulled it down.
A startling din from the kitchen had him revising his options. Edie had obviously decided she was on her own and had put the radio on full blast, singing away to a tune he recognised: Come on Eileen. With a scoff, he remembered it as one she’d always dance to at weddings or any other family get-together. The gulp past the blockage in his throat reminded him it was the song they played as the curtains enclosed the casket at her funeral. A total rebel, she’d have been around 50-something in 1988, but the energy emanating from the closed kitchen door, said there was plenty of life in the old girl. Hopefully, she’d have made herself a cup of tea – or something – so he’d have a short stay of execution. A sniff had his mouth watering at the unmistakable aroma of frying onions. Do what? It could only mean one thing – she’d come round to prepare something yummy for his parents’ dinner. A host of memories flooded his mind: his gran’s home-made cottage pie, spag bol and chilli con carne. Staples of his childhood, along with succulent steak and ale pies. In fact, any sort of pie – her melt-in-your-mouth pastry was to die for. Ditto the thick, dark gravy enriched with her own secret recipe of onion and herbs. And yet none of them ever got fat on her generous portion sizes, mainly because nothing artificial had been used in the making of their food. Each dish had fresh ingredients, cooked from scratch. Bygone days indeed.
He padded down the ladder, box in hand, putting it on the landing windowsill where it wouldn’t be obvious to a casual glance from downstairs. Gingerly, he folded the ladder up a couple of rungs, listening for the tell-tale graunch of metal against metal. As he’d hoped, it had been recently oiled, giving him better options. He stowed the ladder and detached the hook, returning it to the restraining clips next to the bathroom door. Creeping down, he paused as the song finished, to be replaced by the equally raucous Girls Just Want to Have Fun. The kitchen door was open a crack, and he peered through to see his gran topping up a glass with red wine before adding a generous slosh to the pan sizzling on the hob. The not-so-secret ingredient of all her delicious dishes. With a grin, he retraced his steps. After Georgie had nagged about making as few ripples as possible, he decided the best course of action was to return everything to the state in which he found it. But with Edie suitably engaged in her culinary arts, he reckoned he’d have more than a couple of moments to peek inside the diaries and scrapbook. What he found had him desperate to take at least one of them back to his present day to study further, but he had no idea if that was even possible, and preferred not to take a chance on it not working.
Apologies if this post is a tad self-indulgent, but an incident today brought it home to me about how the livelihood of an indie author can be totally de-railed by the cruel vituperation of one or two harsh critics. Even more so when their comments are inaccurate and pay no attention to the blurb description.
But enough about me.
If you’re an avid reader, the best possible help you can be for your favourite author (indie or otherwise) is do as many of these steps as possible for each new release: 1. Buy the book. This is particularly important if you do leave a review as it gives it the kudos of a “Verified Purchase.”
2. Read the book. Obvious, right? But with so many pulls on your time, it’s easy to forget.
3. Leave a rating – between 1 and 5. Even if you bug out halfway through and only give it 3 out of 5, it’s better than nothing.
4. Post a review telling potential readers your opinion. If you find this a tad tricky, see below.
5. Spread the word on social media – tell all your friends why they should be buying a copy of the book.
How to write a great review.
If I had a pound for every time someone told me they were rubbish at writing reviews …
I get it, really I do – if you’re not naturally confident with words it can be daunting.
So here’s some questions to help you focus your thoughts and give a really good flavour of the book.
1. Who were your favourite characters in the book and why? If applicable, who did you hate and why?
2. What most attracted you about the author’s style (and why)? e.g. pace, characterisation, dialogue, plot, wit/humour, originality, descriptions, narrative style, quirks.
3. Did the story fit with the genre – which Films/TV shows was it most like, or what other authors is it similar to? e.g like Stranger Things meets Big Bang Theory or Stephen King meets Jason Ayres.
4. What (if anything) surprised you/what did you learn?
5. Any other general comment about how it fitted with rest of series/could be read as stand-alone, how it related to your personal experiences etc.
Finally, after months of immersing myself in the whole Dungeons and Dragons world, I get to create a scenario with actual dragons – via Georgie, of course. This is the fourth in the Time Doctors series, and I can’t tell you how many hundreds of pages of rules and all the associated paraphernalia I’ve trawled through since getting the idea last June. This was less than a week after releasing the third book in the Calamity Chicks series. I still hope to write the 4th book, Helen’s Hazard, but not for a while. Watch this space!
The best bit for me was binge-watching Stranger Things and Big Bang Theory (especially the episodes featuring D&D). And I even found a couple of episodes in iZombie where the nerds played – Genius. Hope my quirky spin on dragons will not piss too many people off, but those who know me understand how everything in Jacky-world is very slightly skewed. Never one to churn handles, me.
This will give you a hint of Georgie’s unconventional upbringing: Dragons plagued Georgie her whole life. The clue’s in the name. She’s no saint, so when it’s her turn to be dungeon master, she takes her revenge with a good old-fashioned Dragon-slaying adventure. Well, they do say stick with what you know, huh? But her scenario has startling effects on more than one player in their party. Secrets plagued Kev’s childhood. The kind his parents still don’t talk about for fear of the consequences. After his jaunts to the past unlock long-suppressed dark memories, he has to return to 1988 to solve the mystery surrounding his conception. A little digging leads to some seriously shocking possibilities. Is he strong enough to face the disturbing truth?
You can pick up your copy of Time After Timeby clicking the link – a steal at £2.99/$3.49 or read for free on Kindle Unlimited. Continue the fun adventures of a bunch of 30-something geeks as they explore their familys’ pasts with the aid of a temperamental time capsule in the attic. Although it can be read as a standalone, reading the other three first will give insight into the complicated relationships between them.
1. The Hollies – He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother- 10-69
2. Noel Harrison – Windmills Of Your Mind- 04-69
3. Martha & The Vandellas – Dancing In The Street – 02-69
4. The Righteous Brothers – You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’ – 03-69
5. Smokey Robinson & The Miracles – The Tracks Of My Tears – 06-69
6. Blue Mink – Melting Pot – 12-69
7. Marvin Gaye – I Heard It Through The Grapevine – 03-69
8. Simon & Garfunkel – The Boxer – 05-69
9. Thunderclap Newman – Something In The Air – 06-69
10. Jethro Tull – Living In The Past – 06-69
11. The Who – Pinball Wizard- 04-69
12. David Bowie – Space Oddity- 10-69
13. The Archies – Sugar Sugar – 10-69
And here are the ones which didn’t make the cut. Amen Corner – (If Paradise Is) Half As Nice – 02-69 The Beach Boys – I Can Hear Music – 04-69 The Beatles – Something / Come Together – 11-69 Jane Birkin & Serge Gainsbourg – Je T’Aime…Moi Non Plus – 09-69 Glen Campbell – Wichita Lineman – 03-69 Johnny Cash – A Boy Named Sue – 09-69 Jimmy Cliff – Wonderful World Beautiful People – 11-69 Joe Cocker – Delta Lady – 11-69 Creedence Clearwater Revival – Proud Mary – 07-69 Desmond Dekker & The Aces – Israelites – 04-69 Bob Dylan – Lay Lady Lay – 10-69 The Edwin Hawkins Singers – Oh Happy Day – 06-69 The Fifth Dimension – Aquarius/Let The Sunshine In (Medley) – 05-69 Fleetwood Mac – Oh Well – 10-59 Rolf Harris – Two Little Boys – 12-69 The Isley Brothers – Behind A Painted Smile – 05-69 The Love Affair – Bringing On Back The Good Times – 08-69 Lulu – Boom Bang-A-Bang – 04-69 Dean Martin – Gentle On My Mind – 03-69 The Move – Blackberry Way – 01-69 Kenny Rogers & The First Edition – Ruby, Don’t Take Your Love To Town – 11-69 The Rolling Stones – Honky Tonk Women – 07-69 Diana Ross & The Supremes & The Temptations – I’m Gonna Make You Love Me – 02-69 Peter Sarstedt – Where Do You Go To My Lovely – 02-69 Jackie Wilson – (Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher And Higher – 06-69 Stevie Wonder – Yester-Me, Yester-You, Yesterday – 11-69 Zager & Evans – In The Year 2525 (Exordium & Terminus) – 08-69 Roger Whittaker – Durham Town (The Leavin’) – 12-69
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