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After the publication of “Alfi Beasti, Doin’t Eat That!” in 2004 this was my first venture into writing for the adult market, set in the 'halcyon' days of the late nineties, heading towards the great millennium . . .
Going Out in the Midday Sun is part one of a trilogy spanning twenty years, in which the heroes are challenged with the everyday — love, babies, earning, family disputes — as well as a new life in France, a communal enterprise, astonishing amounts of bureaucracy, duck gizzard salad, and possibly the end of the world.
All three books are available to buy online.
Book 1 - Going Out in the Midday Sun (2013)
Four Londoners out of 8 million - through a series of coincidences their lives begin to intertwine...
Holly spends most of her days in her old Saab, fighting the snarling traffic, singing songs of escape from the superficial world of advertising photography. Her large dark paintings are taking over the flat in Muswell Hill; she believes in Fate and is waiting for it to reveal something unexpected.
Peter has just extricated himself from a relationship based on . . . lust really — his violin playing had become offensive to her, as well as his socks. He now yearns to escape his day job and follow his own musical path, in bare feet and old black Savile Row suit.
Sandra is using her degree in English literature to compose fatuous blurb for an estate agent in Highgate while her first novel waits in her head. She just needs time, and to discover if her real parents are kindly doves or sinister crows.
Dodging flying crockery, vegetables and Gallic verbal assault in the West End kitchen of 'Le Tour Blanc', Jasper dreams of opening his own restaurant, somewhere well away from his family: with someone awe-inspiring . . . definitely not Adam.
Book 2 - Staying Out of the Midday Sun (2013)
Four Londoners, whose lives are already entwined, wittingly and otherwise, are about to meet again in an obscure seaside town in southern France . . .
Holly and Peter, after a meeting of souls in book one, have installed themselves in Castallen-sur-Mer with their son Gabriel, no plan, a violin and a small stash of money, which is about to disappear . . .
Sandra has left Spitalfields, packed her manuscripts, her life and her best friend into a transit van, and is driving towards a small stone house on a hill outside Castallen, where Cameron will be waiting for her.
Jasper, after an unplanned road trip and an episode in a Montpellier hotel room that he would rather forget, has arrived in his graffiti-sprayed VW camper van with his chef's knives, good references and a lingering desire for Darren.
Set in France, London and Las Vegas, Staying out of the midday sun, is the second part of a trilogy spanning twenty years, in which the heroes are challenged with the everyday: love, babies, gîte cleaning, a new language, aging parents — as well as shoot-outs, Las Vegas weddings, bureaucracy, duck gizzard salad, and possibly the end of the world.
Amazon review...
“In this, the 2nd book of the trilogy, the characters really take shape and their new life in southern France becomes ever more captivating, Those who have experienced it will recognise the joys and frustrations of learning to cope ...I loved the episode at URSSAF! The author is not afraid of showing that, even in paradise, disasters happen, and social and personal issues still have their place. Bitter family conflict and deep, healing love are drawn without cloying sentiment or judgement which ensures that our sympathy remains with the characters, avoiding a sense of melodrama. And the optimism is still there at the end, with more to come! Highly recommended.”
Book 3 - The Mad Dog Cafe (2014)
The Mad Dog Cafe welcomes you for lunch, dinner and live music on Friday and Saturday nights. Rustic lodging is also available for those who wish to over-indulge. Three of the original characters from Going Out in the Midday Sun have combined their talents to open a cafe on the Mediterranean coast. Joined by new staff, friends and family members they pit their wits against bureaucracy, increasingly bizarre weather and life-changing surprises in this darker finale to the trilogy, in part inspired by the “Bugarach apocalypse”.
The team learn that the cafe is built on sacred ground and will be a place of pilgrimage, being the only plot of land to be spared when the end of the world takes place on 21.12.2013. The heralded date of The End arrives with an onslaught of the world’s press, and then passes with nothing but a few hangovers. But it seems as if the date may have been wrong...
Amazon review...
“The third book carries on from where the second book left off, with the opening of the Mad Dog Cafe...
The plot gets a lot darker as the story moves through the current day into the near future, and challenges the characters to some really unforeseen challenges. The characters are beautifully described; I find myself fascinated more and more by Jasper, and the lovely character of Freddy who has a magnificent transformation of character. The setting for the third book is beautifully detailed and comes alive as the plot unfolds in France, and surprisingly in Las Vegas. All in all a completely compelling read that I literally couldn't put down, and a fabulous conclusion to the weaving plot of the trilogy.”
Amazon review of the trilogy...
“This Trilogy is a very fast read, in that once I started, it was very difficult to stop for a break. Not since Armistead Maupin's 'Tales Of The City' books, have I found a series of books so riveting. These character's really do draw you in, and you do care about them all, as events progress. Initially, each chapter takes you to another time or location, and another set ofcharacters, as progressively their paths cross and they are drawn together. Yet this is no shallow soap opera. The events and locations have been wonderfully realised, and the challenges and unexpected turns seemed both heightened, and yet entirely plausible.
More than once I found myself recounting my own life experiences, and drawing some similarities, and reappraising them.
The period too was well described and brought back some forgotten details, including a laugh out loud moment or two. For those too young to remember, they will be transported there to experience it at first hand. The locations are stunning in description, in that you can really feel the warm sun, and sea breeze at times. In this respect they will form a great escapism for some readers. The characters too have real depth, as they often question themselves, and us, as they react to the unfolding events of life's dilemmas.
You really cannot predict what will happen next, and may even alter your allegiances and views, as you turn the pages.
All life is here, work, play, challenges, relationships, choices, drama, hope, dreams, tragedy, and tastefully written, yet raunchy sex. The author also has an eye for making, the otherwise mundane aspects of adult responsibilities, interesting and informative. The gay characters were refreshingly fully rounded, and none-stereotypical, yet not overly worthy, or infallible either. I think by reading these books we could all learn a little something more about ourselves, and others too, that may well surprise, as well as entertain. This is surely the mark of a good author of any genre.”