The Best Year Of Our Lives

Friday, 23 July 2021

Introducing My New Author Page

Anyone looking for a change of scenery might wish to take a look at my new Author Page, where all of my current works are featured side by side for ease of reference. It features a handy contact form for enquiries and will run a regular blog featuring longer articles than would be the norm at this site. Please feel free to take a look by clicking here.

Thursday, 4 February 2021

When You've Got it in Paperback, You Can Read it Anywhere...

Monday, 18 January 2021

Memories of 1976?

Over the last couple of months I've been labouring over a new literary project with the working title Memories of 1976.

As it implies on the tin, the idea has been to solicit memories via Facebook nostalgia groups from people of a certain age who have some kind of affinity to 1976 - the year of that never-ending summer when the old met the new in music and in popular culture, while an unstable world seemed to totter on the brink of economic meltdown tinged with a worrying if still remote prospect of nuclear conflagration.

If the intention was to use content from others as an easy means of filling pages for my own work then things haven't quite gone to plan. Expecting maybe two to three dozen responses, instead I received nearly 1600, which now need to be ploughed through and placed into some kind of logical context which leaves nothing out and yet somehow retains its freshness through to the final page. Honour obliges me to include every sensible contribution, as I promised all those who engaged with the project that I would. And so what began as an idea for an easy win for a new booklet has morphed into something which threatens to resemble a sequel to War And Peace.

No matter, it is what it is. I will announce the new masterpiece to an eagerly awaiting world just as soon as it is available. To be truthful I'm rather looking forward to it as I'm confident it will be a work worthy of a place in the burgeoning archives of retro, as well as a useful reminder that things don't always go to plan.

Thursday, 24 September 2020

Read a Free Sample of The Best Year Of Our Lives

It is now possible to read a free sample of The Best Year Of Our Lives before ordering. Please just click below:

Tuesday, 15 September 2020

Your Memories of 1976 Wanted

I am presently researching for a new booklet featuring memories and experiences of the wonderful year that was 1976 from those who were there, and I am hoping that as a visitor to this blog you may wish to help by lending me some of your own?

What were you doing during that long hot summer? What memories does that year have for you in particular? The music? The drought and the ladybirds? A memorable holiday perhaps? Some special event in your life? Recollections from your youth?

If you'd like to contribute a few lines for the booklet, a few keepsakes, please just add them under Comments at the foot of this post or send me a PM. I'll need the name you'd like to be identified by (it can be initials, first name, or whatever you like) and a location - nothing too detailed or which gives too much information please.

Typos and bad grammar will be corrected, profanities will be deleted (as will anything which identifies anyone), but beyond that the floor is yours. Remember, it's about 1976 so please try to focus on that year if you can.

Friday, 24 April 2020

Get the Ebook Free of Charge - Offer Closes Tuesday 28th April 2020

For a limited time only The Best Year Of Our Lives is available in ebook format completely free of charge.

Simply click here and download the Kindle reader if you don't already have one (that's free too!). Then click where it says "£0.00 to buy" and follow the instructions to get the book.

There no catch, but if you enjoy the read please take a few moments to write me a review on the site.

Monday, 3 February 2020

Guest Posts Welcome

I am always grateful for on-topic contributions from visitors to this blog.

Do you have an interesting story to tell relating to 1976? Some memories from school perhaps, from your neighbourhood, or just some thoughts in general about the fashions, the music scene, television programmes or popular culture?

Please send me a message at info@phil-andrews.co.uk and we can discuss featuring it as a stand-alone blog story. I will be happy to include a byline and a discreet link back to your own blog or website, just so long as it isn't spammy.

This is your resource, please feel free to use it as well as to read it.

Reviews

"As a writer and editor, I am very impressed with this debut novel. I wasn't sure I was going to like the book when I first started it because it is very British and there were things in the story that I didn't understand. However, the exceptional quality of the writing and the excellent characterizations kept my interest...I highly recommend it!" - Susan Stewart (US author and editor).

"Just finished the book 'The Best Year Of Our Lives' by Phil Andrews. I have never, laughed, wanted to throw a punch, feel 'blue' and cry so much for ages." - verified Amazon reviewer.

"A compelling account of a teenage Camelot...a rich tapestry of life in 1970s Britain - the music, the fashions, and that memorable long hot summer of 1976." - Ray Burston (UK author of The Summer Of '76 and nine other titles).

"The spirit of the times.... captured well. If you were around then it's a great reminisce. But if you weren't a story of adolescent group dynamics that is familiar to all. Check it out." - Michael (verified Amazon reviewer).

"Totally loved the book, so laid back, enjoyable read. First class." - David Squire (verified Amazon reviewer).

"Thoroughly enjoyable read about teenagers in an era now long gone." - verified Amazon reviewer.

"The content of this book...is awesome. Seriously, it is completely unputdownable." - Mark Tamar, The Spirit of 1976.

"The Best Year of Our Lives is an immersive, richly detailed read that puts you there at the heart of the gang as they hang around the youth club and the streets of West London in those far-off days." - verified Amazon reviewer.

"I don't do novels. My reading is restricted to biographies and factual stuff. In fact I don't think I've ever managed more than two chapters of a novel before. But this book was highly recommended and I'm very glad it was! An easy read, but very cleverly written. Because even if you don't spot the clever bits, you will still be thoroughly entertained and will struggle to put it down. Buy it, read it - you will not be disappointed! - Phil L (verified Amazon reviewer).

"What wows me is that this story can be enjoyed on every level, as a simple fond reminisce or as a tentative journey into the recesses of the over-active young mind. Or to put it another way, it can equally be enjoyed or psycho-analysed. Most of all the special genius of this book is the way in which the author hurls himself into the main character to the point where we are sometimes not quite sure which of them is speaking to us. Yes he openly tells us the story was inspired by his own childhood but he doesn't always keep his distance. I wouldn't be surprised if that is deliberate." - Paul Latchmore, Goodreads.

"My formative years coincided with those in this book and I was transported to that time and place with memories popping back into my head with every page turned. Regardless of the age of the reader, I feel there is something in this book for all - a picture painted of a simpler, more innocent world of teenage escapades without the complexities of mobile phones, x-boxes and the like. A damn good read!" - Richard Andrews (no relation!), (verified Amazon reviewer).

"A well written, brilliant book, very good read, enjoyed it from beginning to end." - Janet Short (verified Amazon reviewer).

"A great read, took me back to the 70s" - Graham Nicoll (verified Amazon reviewer).

"The time's memories came flooding back of the wonderful, free and innocent life we youngsters were able to lead at that time. A great book, story and a must read for anyone who was a teenager in the 70s." - Michael Dance (verified Amazon reviewer).

"An excellent read, I thoroughly enjoyed it from start to finish. Captures the era perfectly." - Il Padrino (verified Amazon reviewer).

"A gorgeous feeling of yearning accompanies this journey through that hardest of times, the ages between twelve and fifteen, particularly if it was 'your era'. An air of innocence still surrounded us then, and this lovely novel illustrates this so well...a long, beautiful meander by the metaphorical river of life." - Diana Wilde (Author, The Glam Rock Files).

"The book is an absolute powerhouse of a debut novel which deserves to be picked up by the mainstream. So beautifully prosaic from start to finish, flitting seamlessly between everyday teen street parlance and pure poetry as one chapter rolls into the next. A breathtakingly creative retro tour de force." - Paul Latchmore on Facebook.