Back In Time With Maisie: 1997

In my time-travel rom com, The 12 Christmases of You & Me, Maisie travels back in time to Christmases of her past, and we're going to travel back with her and find out what was happening during the years she goes back to. 

1997 was the year when Chumbawamba got knocked down (but got up again), Rose wouldn't budge over on that floating door and so Jack died, and Channel 5 was launched in the UK.

Christmas Number One:

Too Much (The Spice Girls)

Big Chart Hits in the UK:

I'll Be Missing You (Puff Daddy & Faith Evans)

Something About The Way You Look Tonight/Candle In The Wind (Elton John)

Barbie Girl (Aqua)

Don't Speak (No Doubt)

Men In Black (Will Smith)

I Believe I Can Fly (R Kelly)

Tubthumping (Chumbawamba)

I Wanna Be The Only One (Eternal ft BeBe Winans)

Where Do You Go (No Mercy)

MmmBop (Hanson)

Highest Grossing Films:

Titanic

Jurassic Park: The Lost World

Men in Black

Tomorrow Never Dies

Air Force One

Events, Music & TV:

Richard Branson attempts to fly around the world by balloon. It doesn't go well and they end up landing in the Algerian desert after 20 hours

Emmerdale increases its episodes from two a week to three, and the soap will celebrate its 25th anniversary later in the year

Chris Evans resigns from Radio 1

A second National Lottery draw is introduced on Wednesdays

The Spice Girls launch Channel 5

Tinky Winky, Dipsy, La-La and Po say 'eh-oh' for the first time as the Teletubbies arrive on our screens

The pilot of Cold Feet airs on ITV

The UK win the Eurovision contest for the first time since 1981 with Katrina and the Waves' 'Love Shine a Light'

Channel 4 airs its 4,000th episode of Countdown

Jonathan Creek debuts on BBC1

The Battersby family descend on Coronation Street

Diana, Princess of Wales is involved in a car accident in Paris and dies from her injuries

A new 50 pence piece is introduced

Konnie Huq joins the Blue Peter team

Spice World: The Movie is released

Celebrity Ready Steady Cook, Vets In Practice, Ground Force, I'm Alan Partridge, Where The Heart Is and Family Affairs also have their British TV debuts

What if you could go back in time and fix the biggest mistake of your life?

Two years ago, Maisie’s best friend walked out of her life and she hasn’t heard from him since. When she wakes up in 1994, she naturally assumes she’s dreaming. But when she finds herself in the past again the next night and her actions in the dream alter her present-day life, she begins to wonder if she’s somehow hopping back in time. And if she is time-travelling, can she save her friendship with Jonas?

When Maisie is forced to relive Christmases of the past, will she face up to her mistakes, or make them all over again?

The 12 Christmases of You & Me is a magical tale of friendship, first loves, and learning to live in the present.

Amazon UK | Amazon US

 

Back In Time With Maisie: 1996

In my time-travel rom com, The 12 Christmases of You & Me, Maisie travels back in time to Christmases of her past, and we're going to travel back with her and find out what was happening during the years she goes back to. 

1996 was the year of royal divorce, when The Spice Girls burst into the charts, and when Tom Cruise set off on his first impossible mission.

Christmas Number One:

2 Become 1 (The Spice Girls)

Big Chart Hits in the UK:

Killing Me Softly (The Fugees)

Wannabe (The Spice Girls)

Return of the Mack (Mark Morrison)

Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit (Gina G)

Children (Robert Miles)

Mysterious Girl (Peter Andre)

Three Lions (Baddiel & Skinner and The Lightning Seeds)

Spaceman (Babylon Zoo)

Un-Break My Heart (Toni Braxton)

Say You'll Be There (The Spice Girls)

Highest Grossing Films:

Independence Day

Twister

Mission: Impossible

The Rock

The Hunchback of Notre Dame

Events, Music & TV:

Gaby Roslin presents her last episode of 'The Big Breakfast' and is replaced by Zoe Ball

Take That announce they are splitting up. A helpline is set up for upset fans

The final episode of ITV's Spitting Image airs

Jarvis Cocker invades the stage while Michael Jackson is performing during the Brit Awards

Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson divorce

Coronation Street reaches its 4,000th episode

Fly-on-the-wall documentary Airport debuts on BBC One, depicting every day life at Heathrow

Euro 96 is held in England

The first mammal to be successfully cloned - Dolly the sheep - is born

The Spice Girls emerge with their debut single, 'Wannabe'

The Olympic Games take place in Atlanta, Georgia. Matthew Pinsent and Steve Redgrave win Britain's only gold medals for rowing, men's coxless pair

Prince Charles and Princess Diana divorce

Cadbury become the first company to sponsor Coronation Street after signing a deal with Granada Television

A fourth episode of Coronation Street is added to the weekly schedule, airing on Sundays at 7.30pm

The Spice Girls guest present Top of the Pops on Christmas Day

Ballykissangel, Changing Rooms, TFI Friday, Never Mind The Buzzcocks and Caroline in the City also have their British TV debuts.

What if you could go back in time and fix the biggest mistake of your life?

Two years ago, Maisie’s best friend walked out of her life and she hasn’t heard from him since. When she wakes up in 1994, she naturally assumes she’s dreaming. But when she finds herself in the past again the next night and her actions in the dream alter her present-day life, she begins to wonder if she’s somehow hopping back in time. And if she is time-travelling, can she save her friendship with Jonas?

When Maisie is forced to relive Christmases of the past, will she face up to her mistakes, or make them all over again?

The 12 Christmases of You & Me is a magical tale of friendship, first loves, and learning to live in the present.

Amazon UK | Amazon US

Back In Time With Maisie: 1995

In my time-travel rom com, The 12 Christmases of You & Me, Maisie travels back in time to Christmases of her past, and we're going to travel back with her and find out what was happening during the years she goes back to. 

1995 was the year when Robson & Jerome had emerged from Soldier Soldier as a pop duo, Woody and Buzz Lightyear came into our lives and Channel 4 brought us some great telly.

Christmas Number One:

Earth Song (Michael Jackson)

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Big Chart Hits in the UK:

Unchained Melody/(There'll Be Bluebirds Over) The White Cliffs of Dover (Robson & Jerome)

Gangsta's Paradise (Coolio ft L.V.)

I Believe/Up On The Roof (Robson & Jerome)

Back For Good (Take That)

Think Twice (Celine Dion)

Earth Song (Michael Jackson)

Fairground (Simply Red)

You Are Not Alone (Michael Jackson)

Missing (Todd Terry Club Mix) (Everything But The Girl)

Wonderwall (Oasis)

Highest Grossing Films:

Die Hard with a Vengeance

Toy Story

Apollo 13

Goldeneye

Pocahontas

Events, Music & TV:

Eric Cantona flying-kicks a spectator during a Manchester United vs Crystal Palace match

In Brookside's most viewed episode, Trevor Jordache's body is found buried under the patio

The first The Diary of Bridget Jones column is printed in The Independent

The telephone dialing plan changes in the UK. In most areas a 1 is added to the dialing code after the initial 0, but some areas have a new code

Father Ted, Friends and ER air on Channel 4 for the first time

New licensing laws mean pubs can now stay open all day on Sundays

The National Television Awards are held for the first time, hosted by Eammon Holms

The Disney Channel launches in the UK

Hollyoaks begins airing on Channel 4

Princess Diana is interviewed by Martin Bashir, which is broadcast on the BBC

Pierce Brosnan plays James Bond for the first time in Goldeneye

They Think It's All Over, The Thin Blue Line, The Queen's Nose, Can't Cook Won't Cook, Game On and Band of Gold also have their British TV debuts.

What if you could go back in time and fix the biggest mistake of your life?

Two years ago, Maisie’s best friend walked out of her life and she hasn’t heard from him since. When she wakes up in 1994, she naturally assumes she’s dreaming. But when she finds herself in the past again the next night and her actions in the dream alter her present-day life, she begins to wonder if she’s somehow hopping back in time. And if she is time-travelling, can she save her friendship with Jonas?

When Maisie is forced to relive Christmases of the past, will she face up to her mistakes, or make them all over again?

The 12 Christmases of You & Me is a magical tale of friendship, first loves, and learning to live in the present.

Amazon UK | Amazon US

Nanowrimo 2020 - Week 2: Milestones & Stats

 

How are you getting on with Nano as we approach the end of the second week?

I've found this past week to be really productive, and the milestones have started to clock up. On Monday, I reached the 20,000 words mark, followed by 25,000 words by Wednesday (which signaled the half-way point of my Nanowrimo word count goal) and this afternoon I leapt through 30,000 words.

Being part of a Nano writers' group is definitely a great help and provides a lot of motivation. I achieved my personal best daily word count on Tuesday because, after reaching my goal of 2,000 words (plus a little bit more) during the day, we had a Zoom write-in where I wrote almost 2,000 more.

Another big motivation is the words tracker on the Nano website. It's a small thing, but it's really encouraging to update your word count and see the bar moving closer to the end. I also like the stats the site provides, such as the graph that shows you if you're staying on track, how many words you need to write that day to keep up, and your average daily word count (mine is 2,431 words).

We've got another write-in tomorrow on Zoom, which I'm looking forward to as I find motivation for writing at the weekend is lacking. Hopefully I'll get stuck in and write another 2,000 words towards the end goal of 50,000!

The 12 Christmases of You & Me: 12 Fun Facts

I love reading the Did You Know? section on imdb after watching films and TV shows, so today I'm sharing 12 behind-the-scenes facts about my new book, The 12 Christmases of You & Me.

1.

One of the first things Maisie hears whenever she travels back in time is a festive song. The inspiration for this came from Gavin & Stacey, where most of the episodes begin with a phone call between the pair. I liked the idea of having a ‘rule’ that signaled the start of each time-travel episode and thought a festive song would be perfect.

2.

The book is set in Woodgate, the same as A Beginner’s Guide To Salad, Everything Changes But You, The Wedding Date, The Little Teashop of Broken Hearts and A Beginner’s Guide To Saying I Do.

3.

Jonas Brown’s name was inspired by characters from Netflix's Dark (Jonas Kahnwald) and Back To The Future (Doc Brown)

4.

50,000 words of the first draft of the book were written during November 2019 for Nanowrimo. It was my first attempt at Nano and I’m doing it again this year.

5.

If you've read The Little Teashop of Broken Hearts, you might recognise Val's Cafe.

6.

While I was planning the book, I was re-watching Glee on Netflix and decided to name Maisie's siblings after characters from the show.

7.

If you do the maths, Maisie’s ‘present day’ is 2020 – but there isn’t a hint of Coronavirus (it wasn’t a thing when I started writing the book in October 2019, and I prefer Maisie’s Covid-free world).

8.

The pubs frequented in The 12 Christmases of You & Me can be found in some of my other books:

The Star Inn (The Little Teashop of Broken Hearts)

The Farthing (The Wedding Date and Everything Changes But You)

9.

TV also inspired Anya's name, because I was re-watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer and then Angel while writing the book.

10.

And speaking of Buffy and Angel... one of Jonas' looks was inspired by Spike from the shows.

11.

The character of Karina Davis was named after one of my newsletter subscribers. I put a call out for a name in one of my newsletters and Karina's name was picked out of the hat!

12.

The 12 Christmases of You & Me starts on 12th November ('we’ve only just survived the onslaught of trick-or-treaters, and Bonfire Night was only a week ago') and this date was chosen for a specific reason; it's a very important date in Back to the Future as it's the date when not only does George kiss Lorraine at the Enchantment Under The Sea Dance for the first time (thus ensuring Marty is born), it's the night the clock tower is struck by lightning.

What if you could go back in time and fix the biggest mistake of your life?

Two years ago, Maisie’s best friend walked out of her life and she hasn’t heard from him since. When she wakes up in 1994, she naturally assumes she’s dreaming. But when she finds herself in the past again the next night and her actions in the dream alter her present-day life, she begins to wonder if she’s somehow hopping back in time. And if she is time-travelling, can she save her friendship with Jonas?

When Maisie is forced to relive Christmases of the past, will she face up to her mistakes, or make them all over again?

The 12 Christmases of You & Me is a magical tale of friendship, first loves, and learning to live in the present.

Amazon UK | Amazon US

Back In Time With Maisie: 1994

In my time-travel rom com, The 12 Christmases of You & Me, Maisie travels back in time to Christmases of her past, and we're going to travel back with her and find out what was happening during the years she goes back to. 

First up is 1994, when Wet Wet Wet was number one in the charts for a million weeks (15) with 'Love is All Around', The Lion King was topping the film charts, and Grant Mitchel was about to drop a bombshell in The Vic...

Christmas Number One:

Stay Another Day (East 17)

Big Chart Hits in the UK:

Love Is All Around (Wet Wet Wet)

Saturday Night (Whigfield)

Stay Another Day (East 17)

Baby Come Back (Pato Banton)

I Swear (All-4-One)

Without You (Mariah Carey)

Always (Bon Jovi)

Crazy For You (Let Loose)

Things Can Only Get Better (D:Ream)

Doop (Doo)

Highest Grossing Films:

The Lion King

Forrest Gump

True Lies

The Mask

Speed

Events, Music & TV:

Chaka Demus & Pliers have the first number one single of the year with 'Twist & Shout'

The New Adventures of Superman, starring Dean Cain and Teri Hatcher, airs on the BBC in January

The first lesbian kiss before the UK's watershed is shown on Channel 4's Brookside

One Direction's Harry Styles is born on 1st February

Eastenders increases its episodes from two per week to three

Channel 4 broadcasts Frasier for the first time

The Channel Tunnel officially opens on 6th May

Lidl opens its first stores in Britain

The 1,000th episode of Eastenders and the 2,000th episode of Neighbours are aired on the BBC, while The Simpsons reaches its 100th episode on Sky1

The X-Files is aired on BBC Two for the first time

Oasis release their debut album, Definitely Maybe

Sharongate - in Eastenders, the tape recording of Sharon confessing her affair with her brother-in-law, Phil Mitchel is played in front of everybody in The Vic by husband, Grant

The first episode of The Vicar of Dibley airs on 10th November

The National Lottery is born in the UK, with its first draw on 19th November. The show is hosted by Noel Edmonds

The last ever edition of The Generation Game hosted by Bruce Forsyth is aired on Christmas Eve

Boyzone appear in the charts for the first time with 'Love Me For a Reason', reaching number 2

Police Camera Action! airs for the first time

Pets Win Prizes, Animal Hospital, SMart, Harry Enfield and Chums, Room 101, The Fast Show, Ready Steady Cook, Mind the Baby, Mr Bean, and Don't Forget Your Toothbrush also have their British TV debut.

What if you could go back in time and fix the biggest mistake of your life?

Two years ago, Maisie’s best friend walked out of her life and she hasn’t heard from him since. When she wakes up in 1994, she naturally assumes she’s dreaming. But when she finds herself in the past again the next night and her actions in the dream alter her present-day life, she begins to wonder if she’s somehow hopping back in time. And if she is time-travelling, can she save her friendship with Jonas?

When Maisie is forced to relive Christmases of the past, will she face up to her mistakes, or make them all over again?

The 12 Christmases of You & Me is a magical tale of friendship, first loves, and learning to live in the present.

Amazon UK | Amazon US

Behind The Scenes of The 12 Christmases of You & Me: What Inspired The Book?

 

I'm a big fan of time travel fiction; I grew up watching Quantum Leap and the Back To The Future trilogy, and some of my all-time favourite films contain a time travel element. So I've wanted to write my own time travel adventure for a long time, and I've had the idea for The 12 Christmases of You & Me floating around my brain for a couple of years. But something was stopping me. I had Maisie's story playing out in my head, I knew I wanted her to pop back to the 90s and early 2000s, and I knew it would all take place over the festive period (twelve of them, in fact) but could I pull it off? This fear held me back. Until June 2019, when one of my brothers recommended Dark on Netflix. 

Dark is a German series, which follows teenager Jonas Kahnwald as he tries to find out what happened to a missing child from the town he lives in. What follows is three seasons of mind-blowing plot that I was hooked by. At the time, there were only two seasons (with the third arriving this summer) and by the time I'd finished watching the available episodes I knew two things:

1) Waiting a year for the third instalment would be AGONISING

2) I had to write that time travel story I had in my head

And so I did. Planning the book was relatively easy, since I'd been musing over Maisie's time-travel adventures for so long, and I loved writing every single word. I'd wake up each morning eager to whip open the laptop so I could continue Maisie's story (believe me, this doesn't always happen for the entire manuscript. There usually comes a point where I'd quite happily toss my laptop in the wheelie bin). And this enthusiasm carried through to the subsequent drafts and edits, which really was unheard of.

So, Dark was the kick up the bum I needed to get the story out of my head and onto paper, but all those time travel stories have inspired me along the way. Marty McFly and The Back To The Future trilogy, Sam Beckett in Quantum Leap, Gary Sparrow in Goodnight Sweetheart and so many more (you can see my favourite time travel in film & TV here). 

But that's only half of the story, because there's also the festive setting. Not only am I big fan of time travel fiction, I'm an even bigger fan of Christmas. I'm one of those annoying people who get into full-on festive mode by November (*coughs* October, maybe even September). And what better time is there to set a magical story than Christmas? There's a reason a lot of the Hallmark Christmas films contain wish-come-true scenarios (and this in itself is a reason I love those films).

Christmas is already a magical time for children, so why can't we keep hold of those feelings as adults? Why can't wishes come true, if only in fiction? Why can't someone be transported back to Christmases of the past? If it's good enough for Charles Dickens, it's good enough for me.

What if you could go back in time and fix the biggest mistake of your life?

Two years ago, Maisie’s best friend walked out of her life and she hasn’t heard from him since. When she wakes up in 1994, she naturally assumes she’s dreaming. But when she finds herself in the past again the next night and her actions in the dream alter her present-day life, she begins to wonder if she’s somehow hopping back in time. And if she is time-travelling, can she save her friendship with Jonas?

When Maisie is forced to relive Christmases of the past, will she face up to her mistakes, or make them all over again?

The 12 Christmases of You & Me is a magical tale of friendship, first loves, and learning to live in the present.

Amazon UK | Amazon US