Friday 23 March 2012

The Year from Jahannam is Published

I started writing "The Year from Jahannam" on Saturday 17th December 2011 and yesterday on Thursday 22nd March 2012, it was published on Kindle.

I must say it has been a fantastic experience for me to write this book. I spent 6 hours a day during my 13 day Christmas break and then 3 hours every morning 5:30am-8:30am followed by a couple of hours in the evening.

The first draft was complete on the 19th January. I then spent the next month revisiting every chapter and then the final month proof reading it and creating the website. Now that it is all done, I feel so relieved that I no longer need to revise the book any further.

The inspiration for the book came from something that happened to us as a family in April 2008. I literally had the Week from Jahannam. My father was very unwell and in hospital with something they were unable to diagnose; I was hit in the face by a Squash racket and then early morning one day, someone broke into our house, grabbed the car keys and drove away with our 9 month old Audi Q7.

Our lives have frankly never been the same again as we now double lock everything, park another car in front of the replacement Q7 and ensure that all the alarms are switched on. During the August riots last year, I heard of stories in the news where mobs of youths broke into peoples homes and looted them. I often wondered what I would do if that happened to me and the sense of fear and powerlessness it gave me, literally kept me up some nights. I felt that that fear was something that needed to be shared with the world at large through a book and that is where  "The Year from Jahannam" started.

It's bad enough when the people attacking you are human, but what if they weren't. What if they were something else? How frightening would that be?

The only way to express that fear is from a first person account from different members of the family. People don't share their personal diaries but they can share their blogs. Once I had made that decision, things became pretty clear. I mapped out the year's events and linked them to key historical events from 2011 such as the Japan Earthquake, the Royal Wedding and the August riots in London.  

I am very happy with how this book has turned out and feel that it not only is a supernatural thriller but a reflection of British contemporary society today. It also has a bit of action, romance, politics, religion, celebrity culture and sport thrown in for good measure. There is also a strong moral message that is very poignant in today's joint up world society.

I am very hopeful that it will be enjoyed by many people.

Please feel free to find out more on the book's website www.yearfromjahannam.com