21 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About The ’86 Fix

Craig was originally going to be called Karl, but I couldn’t get Karl Pilkington (An Idiot Abroad) out of my head when I started writing. While Craig might be slightly hapless, I didn’t want him to be a complete idiot.
The original title was ‘Juveniled’, and was only changed to ‘The ’86 Fix’ a month before release.
The school Craig, Dave, Marcus, and Tessa all attended, Heathland Secondary School, was named after my own secondary school – Heath End, in Farnham, Surrey.
The name ‘Lance Gilgrip’, the professor created by Craig for his Afterpath project, is an anagram of ‘Craig Pelling’.
The most commonly asked question readers ask is about the first time Craig loses his virginity with Tessa, and if it was based on real events. Thankfully, it wasn’t.
For the record, my own ‘old man’ isn’t quite the cantankerous old bastard Craig had to live with. He does like gardening though (and like Craig, I am inept).
RolpheTech was drawn from my own experience of working Saturdays in a branch of Dixons after leaving school.
The ending of the first instalment, as controversial as it apparently is, was not the original ending I had in mind. Right up until the last six chapters, I had intended Craig to return to the future, and find himself married to Marcus (yes, really). If you look closely, you might spot a few clues that weren’t edited out.
My own mother suffered from type-2 diabetes, and when Craig tried, somewhat bluntly, to warn her about her diet, there was quite a lot of soul-searching involved on my part.
Video City was a real video shop I used to visit as a teenager. It closed down in 2002.
When I initially visualised Craig, I based his appearance on that of the actor, Simon Pegg. A reviewer later mentioned he’d be perfect as the lead in a TV adaptation of The ’86 Fix. So, Mr Pegg, if you’re reading this…
My oldest, and longest-suffering mate, is also called Dave (I think everyone has a mate called Dave, don’t they?) Sadly for him, the physical characteristics of Dave in The ’86 Fix are pure fiction.
It took five months and nineteen days to write the first draft. It then took another five weeks of editing before The ’86 Fix was released.
Brenda, who worked in the charity shop in Beyond Broadhall, was loosely based upon my wife’s grandfather, Bill. He was from Devon, and I used to love the way he’d say “bugger” (a lot).
At the time of writing, I have seen The Pet Shop Boys live on four occasions. Hearing West End Girls for the first time was also a seminal moment for me, as much as it was for Craig.
Unlike Craig, I happen to love Alive & Kicking by Simple Minds. It’s the tune the players come out to at my local football club, Aldershot Town.
In July 2017, I turned down a deal from a major UK publisher to re-publish both books. Unfortunately, they wanted to combine both books into one volume, and reduce the size by a third – something I felt would undermine Craig’s story.
I never owned a Raleigh Burner, but I did own a Falcon BMX from Woolworths – briefly.
Many people comment on the ending of the first book and opinions are split. Some people love the ending, and some people hate it. The reason I went the way I did was to make it memorable. I wanted readers to have an opinion (good or bad) rather than feeling underwhelmed.
Both The ’86 Fix and Beyond Broadhall will be released as audio books in November/December 2016.
I deliberately left a few questions unanswered just in case I ever want to write a third instalment of Craig’s story. Nothing planned in the short term, but one day.