About the Book
Imagine, it's a cold wintry night, it's been a stressful week, Christmas is approaching and while the day itself can be full of pleasures, the build-up is not without its problems. So you're looking for some escapism. You've seen 'those Christmas movies and listened to those Christmas records' a dozen times already and you're craving a light-hearted, easy-to-read, charming book but also something with a bit of depth; something that gets you in touch with how you feel about life, that taps into those raw emotions. This desire for distraction has only become more intense as the spectre of 'Christmas recession' hangs over you like Death carrying his symbolic scythe. At last a Christmas book has arrived to fill the void and one that will appeal to all the family: teenagers and grandparents, uncles and aunts. What gives this book a wide attraction is the fact that the author makes it easy to identify with all the characters whether it's cut-off Tom, dodgy Den, care-free Rebecca, selfish Chloe or cheeky granddad Albert. Set over the twelve days between Christmas Day and the 6th January it's a story about trying to figure out why life doesn't always turn out how we planned it.
Tom is about to lose his business a chain of art galleries, while trying to come to terms with being ditched by his girlfriend for another man. Den lost his wife's affection many years ago and is trying to give up booze, the one piece of security he's had for most of his adult life. Both men are heading for a miserable Christmas. When the two finally meet, the friendship they form given their polar backgrounds is surprising. By helping each other they give themselves a chance to change the course of their lives, after all every day is an opportunity to start a new life, to be the person we are all capable of being: kind, considerate, generous, thoughtful and compassionate. Isn't it?
Table of Contents:
Part One Tom Kruise with a K On the first day of Christmas my true love sent to me...; Chapter 1 Christmas Day One present, repeated, 9; Chapter 2 Boxing Day Two goals for granddad, 20; Chapter 3 The day after Boxing Day Three damaged dryers, 31; Chapter 4 28th December Four reasons to meet, 42; Chapter 5 29th December Five minutes late, 52; Chapter 6 30th December Six sayings you won't forget, 60; Part Two Dennis Malcolm Leslie Johnston; Chapter 1 Christmas Day One oversized microwave, 73; Chapter 2 Boxing Day Two disastrous goals, 81; Chapter 3 The day after Boxing Day Three tears of sadness, 93; Chapter 4 28th December Four American tourists, 102; Chapter 5 29th December Five gold scams, 112; Chapter 6 30th December Six double whiskeys, 121; Part Three Tom and Den; Chapter 1 New Year's Eve Seven hours in prison, 133; Chapter 2 New Year's Day Eight Christmas hymns, 151; Chapter 3 2nd January Nine wasted years, 163; Chapter 4 3rd January Ten heartfelt sorrys, 180; Chapter 5 4th January Eleven other victims, 195; Chapter 6 5th January Twelve reasons why, 213; EPILOGUE - Sometimes in life, you get what you want, 224.
About the Author :
What initially inspired me to write about Christmas was reading the Dickens classic A Christmas Carol. Back then I felt the core message was about connection: that Bob Cratchit had that close relationship with his family and was generous in his spirit even though he had very little money, whereas Scrooge had all the money but no connection with the people that surrounded him. The essence of my book takes Dickens' ideal and moves it one step forward. It's about helping one another to find happiness in the present by releasing us from past events. You may wonder how I came to this point in my life, to finally publishing my first novel. Back in 2003 when I was working in the City I can only liken it to being on a fast train. I wasn't really sure where I was heading but I was travelling at 100mph, feeling travel sick, and was scared that when I finally got off I would be too old to follow my heart. In fact it wasn't until the train pulled into a station and I got off that I had a chance to understand the full extent of my unhappiness. I was fortunate enough to be given gardening leave at the beginning of 2000 and went travelling on my own, to South America. It was there, on the top of Machu Picchu in Peru, that I began to realise there was more to life than money, strong coffee, work and more work. In fact, when I came back from gardening leave and got settled into my new job, it was a lot harder than I thought to maintain the pace I was living my life at. However, with high expectations placed on me in my new role, I soon got caught back up in the everyday drama and it wasn't until one day three years later that I had a rush of blood to my head, I did something rash and I jumped off the train. In fact I jumped while it was moving and without looking where I was falling. I then spent a fair amount of time deciding which way I wanted to head. After several years had gone by, it began to dawn on me that I'd left my old life for good and was left feeling like a 1970s football star, with the memories of wealth, a sense of self importance but with the reality of life. Oddly though I also experienced glimpses of happiness and freedom like I'd never felt before. The nagging issue was, I still wasn't doing what I really wanted to do: what I loved to do. I kept on getting rejecting by publishers and couldn't understand why, having chosen my new life, my circumstances weren't changing. Then one day I came across an article. It was about a writer who'd given away his novel on the internet for free and as a result he'd found a publisher and was getting his next book launched for sale in the shops that week. He was living his dream. This was my inspiration, the catalyst I needed. I felt like I needed to get my book out there and was finally ready to climb onboard a train again. Who knows where my journey will take me, but at least this time I'm enjoying the ride.
