Bookshelves

 

So, Christmas has been and gone, and you’re left with book tokens you don’t know what to buy with or, far, far worse, the dreaded One4All card that allows you to spend in hundreds of different stores but none of which seem to allow you to or have anything remotely worth buying.

This is where I come in.

Maybe.

You see, I’ve got books for sale. Not the ones in the photo above; technically they are mine, because I own them, but they’re not my books.

You can buy my books from any bookshop, online or physical, including Waterstones for whom the One4All card is acceptable. You may need to wait a week or so as they may not be in stock, but you can still buy them. 

But which to buy?

Well. 

‘The Broken Bottle’, ‘How Green Are Your Eyes’ and ‘This Is Not The End’ are a trilogy of books aimed at readers from 12 to adult. Indeed, most of the readers seem to be adults, so you’ll be in good company. They tell the story of Wilf, a teenager in Croalworth, near Manchester, as he goes to school, forms a band, falls in love, gets scammed, gets involved in gun and drug crime, goes to Ireland, searches for an awol alcoholic, stumbles across an arms dump, is befriended by a mysterious girl, meets the most drunk stop/go sign holder in the world, goes home, goes to university, makes some new friends, finds his flatmate is a bit weird and unhinged, finds his bag mistaken for an unattended package by the bomb squad, is the victim of mistaken identity and rings his sister to take him home. 

https://books2read.com/b/3nBzEP

https://books2read.com/b/bPGOPl

https://books2read.com/b/m00DAA

‘Capturing the Wry’ and ‘Welcome To The Underachievers’ are memoirs of my time in actual real bands writing and recording actual real music and playing actual real gigs. Across the two you can read the trails and tribulations of nearly being signed to record labels, the highs and lows of playing in youth clubs, restaurants and universities, and marvel at just how many venues I have played gigs in which have now closed down and become housing developments.

https://books2read.com/b/3LVWp1

https://books2read.com/b/b5JlqO

‘Seasonal Adjustments’ is a poetry anthology. I once wrote a poem that came in the top 0.17% of a national competition, and still didn’t win. But it shows the potential quality, even if it is up to you to decide the actuality of it. ‘Out of Tune’ meanwhile is the cleverly-titled collection of lyrics presented without their tune. Do you see what I did there?

https://books2read.com/b/49LEaw

https://books2read.com/b/b5W5wk

‘The View From Orlando Bridge’ is another memoir, this time about supporting Bolton Wanderers in the 1980s and 1990s. Yes, it’s that bleak.

https://www.lulu.com/shop/john-hartley/the-view-from-orlando-bridge/paperback/product-m5z964.html?srsltid=AfmBOopiLnNATy_RPJS1AEiE2eEbyl3Ghqjk84MvuYSWnweTsQmh8kgm&page=1&pageSize=4

You can get all of these anywhere, really, including Amazon. You can also get signed copies of most of the titles directly from me at www.brokendownrecords.bandcamp.com/merch

So come on, don’t be shy. Spend those vouchers, or just your hard earned cash, and you too can have my books on your bookshelves (but not the ones in the photograph for reasons already established).

It's Easy To Be Wise About Other People's Lives

At secondary school I was never really comfortable in my own skin. That probably goes for most teenagers, but it wasn't helped by the fact that the school I attended was, by and large, fee-paying. I was on an assisted place, which meant that because my parents didn't earn enough money my place was part-funded. We didn't have a car, didn't have a telephone, and had a black and white television. My friends had televisions in their bedrooms.

It took me quite a while to feel proud of my background. The first few years at school I felt envy towards the ease of the lifestyles my friends had. Meanwhile, I was also painfully aware of the mocking I got from others in the year.

A few people took me for who I was, including some people for whom it would have been easier to stay with the crowd and take the mickey. These days I wish I had been able to tell them how much I appreciated that.

The theme of envy and financial disparity is one that crops up in 'How Green Are Your Eyes', the second of the three parts in the coming-of-age trilogy that began with 'The Broken Bottle'. It's not the only reason the eyes are green though ...

www.brokendownrecords.bandcamp.com/merch for your paperback copies

https://books2read.com/u/bPGOPl for your ebooks

How Green Are Your Eyes

 

Growing into my teens I worried I might never not feel homesick. That was despite evidence to the contrary. Some evidence, anyway. The first time I was away from home was a couple of nights in Ambleside with my primary school. I survived, but missed home. A year later the lure of a week in the Isle of Man proved greater than the fear of missing my parents and sister. I had a whale of a time. I managed a couple of secondary school trips away which by and large passed without incident (though listening to Live Aid in a tent as lightning danced around the trees surrounding the school campsite in Saundersfoot is quite a memory). I even managed a French Exchange fortnight, but the yearning for home was much stronger that time. However, I baulked at cub and scout camps and could find any raft of excuses not to join them.

In the summer of 1990 I decided that, with the prospect of three years away at University looming increasingly large, I had better prove to myself that I could be away from home for a sustained time. I'd tried the year before, but tearing a ligament in my ankle half way down a mountain overlooking Grasmere sort of put paid to that particular plan.

So anyway, in summer 1990 I went to Ireland; County Cork to be relatively precise. I didn't know the family I was staying with, although I had been writing to one of the sisters for a couple of years. The plan was to work in the family pub/hotel/bed-and-breakfast/take-away/restaurant and enjoy a part of the world I had never previously visited. The alcoholic father nearly put paid to that, but when he went awol the family instated me in employment where I could be found working in the fish and chip servery at the height of a blistering heatwave.

'How Green Are Your Eyes' draws inspiration from some of the experiences I had and the people I met. It is, however, very much a work of fiction. Indeed, very much the lived experience I imagine Wilf might have had once he had left school in Croalworth, and is the follow-up to his adventures in 'The Broken Bottle'.

The novel can be ordered in ebook here: https://books2read.com/u/bPGOPl

It can also be ordered in paperback, signed by me, here: https://brokendownrecords.bandcamp.com/merch

How Green Are Your Eyes

 

And there, as if by magic, the cover for 'How Green Are Your Eyes' was revealed to the world, one click at a time.

'How Green Are Your Eyes' is the sequel to 2023's 'The Broken Bottle' which, as I am sure you will remember, featured young Wilf from Croalworth as he joined his school friends in forming a band called the Sally Cinnamons. At the end of the story Wilf was ... well, I'm not going to tell you here am I? No spoilers; you might be reading about 'The Broken Bottle' for the first time. 

The cover was designed, once more, by the very talented RubyGoesBananas who can be found under that title on Instagram and TikTok. You can also see and buy her artwork at her Etsy shop   and on RedBubble. 

'How Green Are Your Eyes' will be published worldwide in early October in both paperback and ebook formats. You will be able to order it from any bookshop, online or bricks and mortar. Signed paperback copies will be exclusively available from the Broken Down Records online shop, where you can also get signed copies of 'The Broken Bottle' as well as other books and music. 

Details of how to order and pricing will come soon, very soon; there will probably be a bundle offer for copies of both books at a slightly discounted price too.

Until then, here's some Lego Minifigure images of the Sally Cinnamons, as featured on social media.