I’ve done this for a few years now and people seem to like it. Here’s the deal – for every day in December there are at least two books by Jacky Gray (and/or Rowanna Green) for free, and various other reductions throughout the month. Remember, all of these books are free to read on Kindle Unlimited at any time.
Here’s a little reminder of the series: The 13-book fantasy saga with Nature’s Tribe, Hengist and Colour of Light.
Bryant Rockwell (YA) and Calamity Chicks (Coming of Age)
Ro’s more grown-up series: Hostage, Jeopardy and Juke Box Musicals
How much fun have I had writing this new series? Totally inspired by the fabulous writings of Keith A Pearson and the wonderful crew at the Broadhall Social Club, this story is a meld of the geeky camaraderie of Big Bang Theory, the quirky, role-playing adventure of Stranger Things and the outrageous fantasy of the phenomenal Labyrinth, featuring an unforgettable performance by the awesome David Bowie. Ok, so probably not the best decision to try yet another new genre, especially one that combines such disparate genres as Time Travel (sci-fi), Dungeons and Dragons (fantasy) and contemporary lad-lit (comedy). But I’m hoping it will find fans from all three disciplines.
A massive shout-out to my new cover designers – a fabulous Ukrainian outfit called getcovers, who created this gorgeous cover in just two days. I’m in awe, guys. As well as my fabulous editor Katy Haye – a phenomenal author of so many fabulous books, I’m thrilled to have found a couple of brand new beta readers, Andrea and Paul, who have generously supported me with their technical expertise. Thank you so much guys, I couldn’t have done this without you – you brighten my days and rock my world!
So, here’s the blurb – you can pick up book 1 of the Time Doctors series for the next couple of days at the pre-release price of a meagre £2.99/$3.49. Fingers crossed.
Time and Time Again Big Bang Theory meets Stranger Things meets Labyrinth with a huge helping of time travel.
Ben has a problem. Well, several really, if the truth be told. With a borderline narcissist for a boss and a prankster lady-killer for a desk-mate, his work life at a gaming firm isn’t wall-to-wall playtime. The last thing he needs is a promotion, much less a bright, attractive feminist as the first addition to his new coding team. But when they all join the same Dungeons and Dragons party, it makes for an interesting life. Throw in a claustrophobic living arrangement and a global pandemic and there’s plenty of scope for fun and adventure.
But what they find in the attic turns everything on its head.
For fans of modern adventure and quirky fantasy with irreverent British humour and a slice of the unexpected.
Actually, there’s probably another half-dozen movies vying for favourite, but we’ll get to them in another post.
This one has always had a special place in my heart, and now it has an even more special place as it’s found its way into one of my books, as the setting for a Dungeons and Dragons campaign.
Coming to an e-reader near you very soon – look out for Time and Time Again.
Yeah, it’s a great story with lots of twists and turns (literally), mazes, monsters and cracking puzzles, but the very best thing about it? David Bowie in his prime.
I have to admit to a huge thrill when I met Brian and Wendy Froud at a Fairy Festival – they were both truly magical, creative people, and how fun was it that their son, Toby played the baby in the film? Thankfully, he followed them into the movie industry – such a talented family.
And I couldn’t finish without a mention of THAT DANCE.
If I ever did Strictly, this would be my Waltz.
I really wasn’t expecting this, but would like to show my appreciation to all the book lovers beavering away to make this happen. You guys really made a difference, thank you.
This one was particularly tricky to call.
1. Ultravox – Vienna – 02-1981
2. The Jacksons – Can You Feel It – 04-1981
3. Rainbow – I Surrender – 02-1981
4. Kim Carnes – Bette Davies Eyes – 05-1981
5. The Police – Every Little Thing She Does is Magic – 10-1981
6. Randy Crawford – You Might Need Somebody – 07-1981
7. Elvis Costello – A Good Year For The Roses – 10-1981
8. Godley & Creme – Under Your Thumb – 10-1981
9. The Look – I Am The Beat – 01-1981
10. Queen & David Bowie – Under Pressure – 11-1981
11. Phil Collins – In The Air Tonight – 01-1981
12. REO Speedwagon – Keep On Loving You – 05-1981
13. Squeeze – Labelled With Love – 11-1981
And the bubbling unders: Kiki Dee – Star – 03-1981 Dire Straits – Romeo And Juliet – 02-1981 Quincy Jones – Razzamatazz – 07-1981 Madness – It Must Be Love – 12-1981 John Lennon – Imagine – 01-1981 Diana Ross & Lionel Richie – Endless Love – 09-1981 Bob Marley & The Wailers – No Woman No Cry – 07-1981 Sugar Minott – Good Thing Going (We’ve Got A Good Thing Going) – 04-1981 Julio Iglesias – Begin The Beguine (Volver A Empezar) – 11-1981 Imagination – Body Talk – 07-1981 The Pointer Sisters – Slow Hand – 09-1981 Cliff Richard – Wired For Sound – 09-1981
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:
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. 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 out 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 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.
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
Last Saturday, my son Chris married his fabulous fiancee, Sophia. Here’s a flavour of the day:
All week, my hubby and I had scoured various weather forecasts which predicted torrential rain all weekend, and they were almost right – it poured down all day Friday as we travelled down to West Sussex and shared an excellent Italian dinner. But the Saturday dawned with glorious sunshine which lasted right up until the disco finished. Strangely, Sunday morning’s cloudburst felt as though the heavens had been keeping their legs crossed to give us a perfect day.
It certainly seems like this is the time of year for nuptials – Bri and I celebrated our 36th anniversary on the preceeding Tuesday, my nephew and neice celebrated their 5th anniversary on the 5th, and the 6th would have been my parents’ 66th anniversary. You couldn’t write it.
Except I kinda did – to celebrate the 1st book in the hengist saga, 3 Handfastings and a Burial, I wrote a series of blog posts all about wedding traditions through the centuries – you can find them here: https://hengistpeoplehorse.blogspot.com/2019/
So, having considered every year in the 70s, I did a quick analysis of how often each artist had a record in the top 20 during the decade – this (number) may not be absolutely accurate, but it certainly stacks up with what I remember.
My top thirteen 70s artists were:
Slade (17)
Queen (12)
David Bowie (16)
Thin Lizzy (10)
Stevie Wonder (10)
Earth, Wind & Fire (7)
Bee Gees (9)
Sweet (12)
ELO (15)
Jacksons (Including Michael) (18)
Fleetwood Mac (10)
Eagles (8)
Status Quo (14)
As ever, there’s a few names bubbling under who didn’t quite make it
Leo Sayer (9) Gilbert O’Sullivan (8) ABBA (17) Police (7) Roxy Music (11) Mud (13) Darts (8)
And a special mention to these guys who never brought out a track I didn’t like
Billy Joel (3) Labi Siffre (2) Alice Cooper (5) Manfred Mann (4) Mott the Hoople (4) Suzi Quatro (6) Santana (4)
To put it into perspective, here are some of the biggest names of the decade
Elton John (13) Diana Ross (14) Cliff Richard (9) Elvis Presley (19)
JRo Author 