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I'll Be There For The Replay
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Author: Tom Goymour First published: November 2013
by Tog Marketing, 2nd Edition: T.Goymour: 2017 ISBN: 9781310800528 |
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A Ghostly Tale of Real Christmas Spirit. As the family reach the end of term their attention turns to mum Paula Patterson's forthcoming big day. The concert she is to give three days before Christmas has become the subject of much local interest. But, as Paula's big day approaches, strange, and events start to befall her and her family. First there's the accident, David and the children receive a strange warning! Then the Christmas book that Paula was given seems to be telling them so much more than just the words on the page, and then there's that hauntingly melodic piece of piano music - the piece Paula is to perform at the concert! Who was it playing the piano in the little church late one December evening? Was it really snowing or had they imagined it? What is it that Aunt Molly knows but just simply cannot tell the family? And when all is done, who will be there for the replay? What people are already saying about this book . . |
Hooked!
Just finished reading your book - I don't get much time to read with my four kiddywinks - but I couldn't put the book down, I wanted to know what happened! An excellent story, very well done, you'd better put me down for a copy of all your future books too, I'm hooked!
Jenny Avis
A great short story for Christmas!
This is a lovely story - well-written with lots of interesting details about the characters. There are lots of twists and turns that keep you wanting to read more and more!
Claire Yvonne Reynolds
Excellent
'Ive just read the book. fantastic really good story, I couldn't put it down once i started reading it. Can't wait until your next book out?'
Sarah Robinson
Fantastic
'Just downloaded and read your book, delightful story - couldn't stop reading. Well done, love it. Just a wonderful read and a lovely warm tale from a talented man! Thank you I recommend this book x'
Sally Walker
A Lovely Christmas Read
'Once I started reading this, I couldn't put it down. A truly great read that makes you think.
Well done Tom! Look forward to your next one.'
Paula Jane Huntley
A Fantastic read
'A fantastic read, it kept me wondering all the way . . couldn't put it down. A strong Christmas story with a real message for everyone'
Dot Wilson
A Riveting read
'A riveting read telling a unique ghostly tale of a modern day family at Christmas. Read it in one afternoon - could not put it down! It is one of those books that really makes you think. Would recommend this to anyone, young or old. Fantastic book!'
Abbey Goymour
Just finished reading your book - I don't get much time to read with my four kiddywinks - but I couldn't put the book down, I wanted to know what happened! An excellent story, very well done, you'd better put me down for a copy of all your future books too, I'm hooked!
Jenny Avis
A great short story for Christmas!
This is a lovely story - well-written with lots of interesting details about the characters. There are lots of twists and turns that keep you wanting to read more and more!
Claire Yvonne Reynolds
Excellent
'Ive just read the book. fantastic really good story, I couldn't put it down once i started reading it. Can't wait until your next book out?'
Sarah Robinson
Fantastic
'Just downloaded and read your book, delightful story - couldn't stop reading. Well done, love it. Just a wonderful read and a lovely warm tale from a talented man! Thank you I recommend this book x'
Sally Walker
A Lovely Christmas Read
'Once I started reading this, I couldn't put it down. A truly great read that makes you think.
Well done Tom! Look forward to your next one.'
Paula Jane Huntley
A Fantastic read
'A fantastic read, it kept me wondering all the way . . couldn't put it down. A strong Christmas story with a real message for everyone'
Dot Wilson
A Riveting read
'A riveting read telling a unique ghostly tale of a modern day family at Christmas. Read it in one afternoon - could not put it down! It is one of those books that really makes you think. Would recommend this to anyone, young or old. Fantastic book!'
Abbey Goymour
BEHIND THE SCENES: All about the writing of 'I'll Be There For The Replay'
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Behind every story, in fact, everything that has ever been created whether it be writing, art, design, music, drama, any form of creative expression, there is always a starting point; something that at least provides the creator with the germ of an idea. This is the human specialism we call 'inspiration'.
My starting point for writing this story although quite specific was quickly followed by many other strands. A lot of them are embedded with strong emotions. There were then many ideas that all came together simultaneously and interested me enough to provide the inspiration to write the story. I'd like to share some of them with you . . . don't worry if you haven't read the story yet - I'm not going to give the plot away here. I'm going to say more about the emotional triggers and hopefully give the reader an insight into what they should expect to get from the story. There are one or two points that are not mentioned in the general description above which are worth noting as you read this. The story is set in 2013, the contemporary present at the time of its creation, although there is no exact significance of this particular time setting. However, the year of 1979 is significant and ties into the story. All the people, places and events are fictional but the historical references to a certain book and the music mentioned throughout are real, true facts. There is clearly a message in this story, whether you believe in ghosts or not But to say any more about that here . . . now that would be telling! |
My Starting Point: Listen while you read
Every Year at Christmas time my family and I have two Christmas customs that we always adhere to. These have taken place every Christmas without fail one way or another over the last three decades since the time that my oldest son, (now in his fourth decade), was old enough to listen. One of these is when on Christmas Eve we troop off as a family up to the woods some fifteen minutes away to go and get some holly to decorate our home for the season. I set off with a varying number of family members each year and a few basic tools and we come back with a few sprigs. We've always gone to the same spot, even though we moved into our present home twenty years ago, it was about the same ten to fifteen minute walk from there too. The other Christmas custom in our family is for me to read 'The Christmas Book' and it is this that made me put finger to keyboard just a couple of days before the children and myself broke up from school. (The entire original draft story was actually written in ten days before the Christmas of 2011.) The Christmas book story I read by candlelight a chapter at a time to my children every Christmas, and it always gives us that 'Christmassy feeling'. The Christmas Book 'The Christmas Book' is a lesser know work by Enid Blyton, published in 1948 and it tells the story of a family during the days leading up to Christmas. She describes real Christmas customs and ancient tales to inform the reader through the story, often with the father giving the narrative. It's a cosy read and always interests my children even though they hear it every year. As family members know I have a habit of digressing to explain things, and often use my imagination to do so. So, when someone suggested writing my own story I could read perhaps to them. This was all I needed. I started one night right after reading the book to them. This Christmas book contains many anecdotes and explanations for why we do some of the things we do at Christmas. It is for good reason that it features in 'I'll Be There For The Replay' . |
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The Year 1979
Why 1979? Ah, well you see, this is where the memories and emotions kick in. 1979 was not my favourite year but I have very strong and significant memories from the time and it fits as a 'setting' year for the time span of the story. 1979 was a pretty bad winter in the UK, but it was the previous winter of 1978-79 that was really severe. Events of the year of 1979 led me to change things slightly and project the Christmas of 1979 as a white Christmas, this may just have happened in some parts of the UK. A family friend was actually killed suddenly in a car crash that year, and Paul McCartney and Wings released 'A Wonderful Christmastime'. Both these things feature significantly in the story. As a young adult in 1979 I was an enthusiastic pianist. Most of the technical ability I possess today was acquired through many, many hours a week playing the piano during that period of my life. Now anyone who lives in the same household as a dedicated musician will tell you that sometimes it all gets a bit too much – my mum certainly used to tell me that, so what did I do? I went up to the nearby church to practice. It wasn't quite the little church of St. Nicholas that features in the story, and, as I recall it wasn't quite so spooky, but boy, on those cold winter evenings . . . did my fingers get cold! |
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The Music
The core of this story is the piece of music it is centred around. I'm not giving anything away when I tell you a bit about that piece and why I have used it as the focal point of this story. Anyone who knows me well will tell you spite of everything else I do, music is my greatest passion. I like many,many genres of musical form but for me the greatest pieces are those that stir powerful emotions. There is one piece of piano music I find 'hauntingly beautiful'. The story is about a woman who is striving to carve a second career as a pianist. The piece that features is 'Prelude Chorale and Fugue' by Cesar Franck, the French composer. It was written in 1886 and to this day, it is one of my favourites, and I think possibly the greatest single work for the solo instrument ever written. Everyone reading this story should listen to at least some of this piece. Whether you like classical music or not is not relevant, but this piece is! Listen here |
Apart from having hauntingly beautiful qualities, this music really speaks to the listener through the voice of the piano in a way like no other.
In the story, Paula, the main character, is taken on an emotional journey, and this music encapsulates her feelings; anguish, doubt, then confidence, power, and finally the strength and inspiration she finds to see it through. |
orMy personal involvement with this piece stretches back a long way . . . yes, you guessed it, I first heard this piece from start to finish in 1979. However it had come to my notice many years earlier.
We moved to Peterborough when I was seven and the piano came with us but in the big old house we used to live in my dad used to keep some piano scores lying around and as a fiver or six year old I used to look them over just as I started to learn to read music. Among the scores was this funny thing I could never make out - 'Prelude, Chorale and Fugue.' by Cesar Franck, lots of notes all over the place . . . surely not playable! I've since tried many times, but hey, I'm not exaggerating when I comment in the story that it is one of the hardest pieces in the piano repertoire. 
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Of course, we all have different tastes in music and a core feature of the story is that Paula is surrounded by a loving family that don't share her passion. Yes they support her but another piece of music is mentioned. The significance is in the year it was released, the type of Christmas song it is, and, it's title:
A Wonderful Christmas time - Paul McCartney & Wings
A Wonderful Christmas time - Paul McCartney & Wings
The Characters
Any Author can talk all day about the characters they've developed. The key points I want to share are simply that they are all 'real based'. I never name specific people, (not sure I would even if they gave their consent). The main character and her family are all modelled on people I've come across or very close representations of.
But who is 'Uncle Mark'?
Well, he is an amalgam of people I have known. He is based a little bit on a friend of the family I knew as a small child who was a bit of a music connoisseur and pianist. But there is something else quite special about Mark. Occasionally in life we just come across people who seem to have that 'make everything right' aura about them . . . I knew such a person fairly recently who has also now passed on. I also have to own up to the fact that there is a bit of me in there . . . he, like me aspires to be the pianist that we both would love to have been but never quite were!
Aunt Molly: there is always someone in every family who knows that little bit more, who is that little bit sharper; who has the overview of what is or has really been gong on. Aunt Molly is that Lady in this story. . . I say no more.
No more spoilers about the characters, just to say that there are significant plans for this book's future – the story for these characters is not over!
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Football
A subject very dear to my heart. It would be quite impossible for me to detach myself from the beautiful game. I have had no less than seven of my offspring over the years in serious pursuit of the sport. This story is about a replay, and the cup match replay is the same night as the concert! There's drama, there's a dilemma! Decisions have to be made on the spur of the moment – just like in a football match. The football replay match plays a major part in this story . . . I'm saying no more here. |
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And On A Personal Note . .
There was a very personal reason for me underlying the writing of this story. I didn't fully realise it at the time; sometimes we do things and only afterwards realise why we were compelled to do them.
All the time I was writing this there was something happening in the background to someone very dear to me. My Father was dying; I sort of knew it but didn't really know exactly how close he was to leaving this world.
He'd been very ill since November and that Christmas he wasn't well enough to be out of bed, so our Christmas visits that year were short, but very sweet.
I dedicated this story to him and presented him a copy on Christmas day. To this day I still don't know if he was ever really well enough to be able to read any of it. He died peacefully on February 10th 2012.
There was a very personal reason for me underlying the writing of this story. I didn't fully realise it at the time; sometimes we do things and only afterwards realise why we were compelled to do them.
All the time I was writing this there was something happening in the background to someone very dear to me. My Father was dying; I sort of knew it but didn't really know exactly how close he was to leaving this world.
He'd been very ill since November and that Christmas he wasn't well enough to be out of bed, so our Christmas visits that year were short, but very sweet.
I dedicated this story to him and presented him a copy on Christmas day. To this day I still don't know if he was ever really well enough to be able to read any of it. He died peacefully on February 10th 2012.
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Michael Goymour was the most inspired creative individual I have ever known. There is no doubt that any ability I have for writing comes from him. As an Artist and a poet he is my greatest influence for not only literature, but also art and music. A great lover of classical music he introduced me to the fold many years ago and to him I owe an enormous amount of gratitude for enabling and equipping me with some of the abilities required to to write this book. |
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So, Have You Read The Story?
If you've got this far and you haven't surely now it's worth a read! I passionately believe it will do you the world of good – for this Christmas, next Christmas and many more to come!
You can get I'll Be There For The Replay here
If you've got this far and you haven't surely now it's worth a read! I passionately believe it will do you the world of good – for this Christmas, next Christmas and many more to come!
You can get I'll Be There For The Replay here
If you have read the story and enjoyed it please take a minute to leave a review. Reviews are helpful to everyone.
