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
Friday 23 March 2012
Sunday 1 January 2012
Forest too Good to go Down - Not this time!
In 1992 when the Premiership was a new beginning for the whole of English football, there was a phrase that started being associated with Nottingham Forest. Having finished a creditable 8th in the English top flight not to mention appearing at Wembley twice in the League Cup and Simod Cup finals in the 1991-92 season, not many predicted that they would finish rock bottom of the Division a year later. Respected pundits from all over the country and various TV channels all were heard uttering those fateful words "Too Good To Go Down!".
Twenty Years later, Forest are facing a similar situation. A team that was so close to a Wembley playoff final last year and arguably boasted some of the Championships best players in McGugan, Camp, Chambers, Gunter Morgan and Blackstock are now three points adrift in the divisions relegation zone. In 1992 the team had many international stars - Roy Keane, Stuart Pearce, Nigel Clough, Neill Webb and Scot Gemmill yet a spate of injuries to key players and loss of confidence and form from the remaining players pushed the team down to what were then considered unimaginable depths.
This year Forest have suffered from a similar spate of injuries. Blackstock, Cohen, Anderson, Morgan, McCleary, Lynch, Maloney and Miller have all been out for lengthy periods and few can argue that 7 games without a goal is irrefutable evidence of a lack of confidence.
Given that Billy Davies' sacking and replacement by Steve McClaren was a bad decision, it still does not explain why a top six team can plummet into the bottom three in a matter of months. The same players that were scoring spectacular goals, keeping clean sheets and at times playing some champagne football are looking less likely to score a goal than a politician admitting they were wrong.
Billy Davies when he took over and rescued the team from a similar predicament called it his best achievement in football. Steve Cotterill has therefore got a gargantuan challenge in front of him to emulate that achievement in light of the fact that he will have much less financial support.
The one thing he does have however still is a strong squad of players most of whom have been through this situation before - Camp, Gunter, Chambers, Morgan, McGugan, and Blackstock. We know what they are capable of and must beileive that they can repeat the feat! For this they will need the support and belief from the fans so they can lift their game and performances.
New year brings new hope and like this time three years ago when Forest when to Man City and beat them 3-1, a new era can begin. I for one am very hopeful that this can start tomorrow at Ipswich. However what is certain is that Forest are NOT too good to go down this time round!
Twenty Years later, Forest are facing a similar situation. A team that was so close to a Wembley playoff final last year and arguably boasted some of the Championships best players in McGugan, Camp, Chambers, Gunter Morgan and Blackstock are now three points adrift in the divisions relegation zone. In 1992 the team had many international stars - Roy Keane, Stuart Pearce, Nigel Clough, Neill Webb and Scot Gemmill yet a spate of injuries to key players and loss of confidence and form from the remaining players pushed the team down to what were then considered unimaginable depths.
This year Forest have suffered from a similar spate of injuries. Blackstock, Cohen, Anderson, Morgan, McCleary, Lynch, Maloney and Miller have all been out for lengthy periods and few can argue that 7 games without a goal is irrefutable evidence of a lack of confidence.
Given that Billy Davies' sacking and replacement by Steve McClaren was a bad decision, it still does not explain why a top six team can plummet into the bottom three in a matter of months. The same players that were scoring spectacular goals, keeping clean sheets and at times playing some champagne football are looking less likely to score a goal than a politician admitting they were wrong.
Billy Davies when he took over and rescued the team from a similar predicament called it his best achievement in football. Steve Cotterill has therefore got a gargantuan challenge in front of him to emulate that achievement in light of the fact that he will have much less financial support.
The one thing he does have however still is a strong squad of players most of whom have been through this situation before - Camp, Gunter, Chambers, Morgan, McGugan, and Blackstock. We know what they are capable of and must beileive that they can repeat the feat! For this they will need the support and belief from the fans so they can lift their game and performances.
New year brings new hope and like this time three years ago when Forest when to Man City and beat them 3-1, a new era can begin. I for one am very hopeful that this can start tomorrow at Ipswich. However what is certain is that Forest are NOT too good to go down this time round!
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