My Blog | Keith A Pearson

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.

The Return of Clement in Wrong’un

Some (hopefully) exciting news, folks!

If you’re reading this, it’s probably because you’re either registered on my mailing list, or follow me on Facebook or Twitter. And because you do, I’m delighted I can give you a heads-up on the follow-up to ‘Who Sent Clement?’…

Due for release early in 2018

Sir Charles Huxley, a former government minister, had a dark secret — a secret he should have taken to the grave when he died in 1999.

Charles’s son, William, now lives an uneventful life in his father’s shadow. A middle-aged bachelor, all he has to worry about is his seemingly pointless job as a backbench Westminster politician, and his lonely existence — or, at least he did.

One evening, William has a chance encounter which sets off an escalating series of accusations and threats, culminating in a damning revelation about Sir Charles’s past. Without even realising, William stumbles straight into the darkest of blackmail plots.

With his blackmailer having cunningly closed every exit, William is trapped, and faces personal and financial ruin. That is until an odd-job man working at his local bar steps forward and offers a way out.

With no alternative, William is forced to join his peculiar saviour on a desperate mission to stop his blackmailer and unearth the shattering truth behind his father’s secret.

To receive an email when this book is released, click the button below to sign-up to my readers list…

The ’86 Fix Giveaway – The August Winners

Firstly, thank you to everyone who retweeted my post. My only regret is that I can’t offer every one of you a signed copy of the book. As somebody who has never won anything in his life, I actually feel guilty for those who didn’t win.

So, I’ve decided to give away all SIX copies I have in my possession, rather than the original three. And for those of you who didn’t win, I’m willing to send you a signed copy if you’re happy to pay just a fiver towards the P&P (UK only). I hope that eases any (probably negligible) disappointment if you didn’t win.

And without further ado, here are the SIX winners…

Lisa Mason
Zippy Penguin
Pete Haynes
The Gav Ninja
Rochelle Morrison
Adam (Squillop Media)

Can I ask the six winners to email me their full name (including Twitter handle), and their address via the contact page HERE – I’ll then confirm via a PM on Twitter.

My sincere commiserations for those who didn’t win but if you’d still like a signed copy, simply complete the form below and for just £5, I’ll send you one – just FYI, I’ll be losing money on every copy so this isn’t a strategy just to flog a few books. Please allow up to 30 days for delivery as bulk copies are shipped from the US and can take a few weeks to arrive. I’d also ask that you place your order no later than 5.00pm on Monday 28th August.

Thanks again to all those who retweeted, and to everyone who has supported my work – I am, and will always be, eternally grateful.

Keith x

The Return of Clement

Well, it’s been a little over six weeks since ‘Who Sent Clement?’ hit Amazon’s shelves, and in that time, I’ve been deeply flattered, and humbled, at the positive response from readers.

At the end of the book, I said the big man would return if you, the reader, were keen on furthering his adventure – clearly a number of you do.

With that in mind, I am delighted to announce the second title featuring Clement is now underway. It’s early days, but the book has been plotted-out and the long journey of writing is already underway. How long it takes depends on a number of factors (not least, ensuring it’s a good read) so it’s tricky to give you a definitive release date, but I suspect it will likely be in January 2018.

In the meantime, I’m trying to grow the audience of Clement fans (Clemenettes?) so if you’re able to help in any way, with a tweet, a Facebook mention or a lovely Amazon reviews, you’d be doing me a massive favour. As most of you know, (violins out) I don’t have a publisher or an agent so if Clement is to thrive, I’m reliant on your support.

Without you, I am just an over-caffeinated idiot, pointlessly bashing away at a keyboard.

Thank you taking the time to read my ramblings, and I’ll post again soon once I know the title of Clement’s next adventure.

Keith x

Release Details – Who Sent Clement?

Some (hopefully) exciting news, folks!

If you’re reading this, it’s probably because you’re either registered on my mailing list, or follow me on Facebook or Twitter. And because you do, I’m delighted that I can give you a heads-up on the pre-release of ‘Who Sent Clement?’ at a lower price.

If you click the link below, you can download a copy from Amazon for just £1.99 (or read free with Kindle Unlimited). This is just my small way of thanking you for your support. The book will go up to the full price at lunchtime on Saturday 8th July, so don’t hang around, folks.

BUY ON AMAZON

Due for release 8th July 2017

Beth Baxter is in serious trouble, and not of her own making. All seems lost until she receives an offer of help from an unlikely visitor – a former gangland fixer by the name of Clement. However, there’s one minor issue. Clement claims he’s been dead since 1975 and has been sent to help Beth as penance for his previous misdemeanours.

With just seven days to avoid a fate she’d rather not contemplate, Beth reluctantly joins her deluded, politically-incorrect companion on a quest across London in search of a solution. Will this unlikely partnership succeed? Will Clement ever come to terms with paying five quid for a pint? And will Beth ever learn the truth about who sent Clement?

To receive an email when this book is released, click the button below to sign-up to my readers list…

Don’t Say That. Say This…

How many times have you read a page of copy, only to realise you’ve used a certain word too many times. Next time, try replacing those commonly-used words with one from the list below.

To download and save this list as a PDF file – click here.

better-words

Useful Twitter Hashtags For Avid Readers

Imagine being at a party where every guest is shouting at you at the same time. Sound fun? Obviously we’d rather filter what we want to hear and this is why Twitter hashtags are incredibly useful. By clicking any of the hashtags below, you’ll only see tweets that are specifically book-related. Using hashtags is also a useful strategy if you happen to be tweeting about a book and want to reach a wider audience beyond your followers.

General Book Hashtags

My Hashtags

It would be rude of me not to mention my latest book, The ’86 Fix, which is available to read for free in Kindle Unlimited.

#timetravel
#the86fix

Follow me on Twitter

Specific Genre Hashtags

1980s British Time Travel Fiction – The ’86 Fix

There are a lot of time travel books centred around a leap into the distant past. However, for me, the 1980s will always hold a particular fascination. I grew-up in suburban England and hit my teenage years in 1984. It was a time when I first became aware of popular music, of fashion, and…girls. Actually, my first teenage love wasn’t a girl but a Commodore 64 computer.

It was my love of all things ’80s that provided the inspiration for my first novel – The ’86 Fix. I’ve read plenty of time travel books and enjoyed most of them. However, they all focused on a period of time before I ever drew breath on this planet. As fascinating as Tudor times may have been, I yearned for some nostalgia. I wanted a good story that centred on the things I remembered from my youth.

My Time Travel Book

In March 2016, and after years of threatening to write a book, I decided to take some advice I’d read somewhere, and to write the book I wanted to read. Seven months later, and after a lot of hard work, The ’86 Fix was published on Amazon.

The book is about Craig Pelling – a middle-aged nobody living in Suburban England, married to a wife he doesn’t love and working as the manager of an electrical store – a job he never wanted. Craig was born in 1970 and like me, grew-up through the 1980s. Also like me, his first computer was a Commodore 64. It is Craig’s computer that changes his mundane life when he unearths it in his former childhood bedroom at his parents house.

If you want to read the book, it’s available on Kindle from Amazon.

I won’t go into too much detail about the plot because I hate spoilers. What I would say is that The ’86 Fix isn’t your typical time travel book. I wanted to write a book that would appeal to people who didn’t usually read sci-fi. Some of my initial reviewers were most certainly not sci-fi fans and they enjoyed it immensely (maybe they were being polite but I was happy to take the plaundits).

I set-out to write a book with a sense of humour. But I also wanted to add a touch of poignancy. Obviously none of us will ever get to travel back in time, let alone to our own childhood, but what I wanted to capture was the feeling of nostalgia. Whether it was chewing on a Texan Bar or playing Space Invaders in an amusement arcade – time travel for me is more interesting if you’re re-visiting a bygone era you’ve actually lived through.

Anyway, enough of my ramblings. If you’re looking for a time travel book that is based in the 1980s and has a very British flavour, give The ’86 Fix a go – I’m sure you’ll like it, maybe even love it.

The ’86 Fix

Everything that is wrong with Craig Pelling’s life can be traced back to 1986 and the moment he popped-in to a newsagents to buy a can of Coke. Now he lives in a loveless marriage and earns a living in a dead-end job as the manager of an electrical store. He could have been so much more, achieved so much more.

But as bitter as Craig currently feels about his mundane life, things are about to get a lot worse. Just as everything starts to crumble around him, Craig is thrown a lifeline. The miraculous lifeline of a brief trip back to 1986. But will he be able to fix his life? Is it as simple as just reverting one decision he made over thirty years ago? Craig is about to find out.