Well now, following on from the recent release of the ‘Teaser Trailer’ here, in the form of the Prologue, I am pleased to tell you I have now published my second book, ‘Fifty’.
It’s been a labour of love and hate and lots of emotions in between those polar opposites, but I am pleased that I stuck with it. It is what I set out for it to be – an almost live account of the totally unexpected and unscripted events of the year in which I reached my fiftieth birthday. When I entered into the main business of the writing, on the 16th December 2023, I had no idea what was coming. All I knew was that life was not sitting quite right with me, and that some closer inspection of that was needed, and that I might hope to get another volume on the shelf, as a result. Now I have. In the end, what unwound as I thought, typed, edited and then finally closed the laptop was one big story, with multiple little stories included within it.
I have tried to keep the light bits light, and to help with that I have used some recollections of funnier stories as and when appropriate to break what might, at times, be a more challenging narrative to read than the froth and silliness that was Lunch in Moldova?
You’ll find what I hope is a good mix of comedy and ‘light tragedy’. That, in the final analysis, seems to be what a lot of my life has been and continues to be made up of. I have emerged through another year – some funny things happened, some sad things happened, and in the end I have done some learning about myself. So, that’s good, right?
I’m going to take a break, now, from all this exhausting introspection. My plan is to use to 2025 to try to write a Play. A farcical Play. It’s likely to be a less personal business, but won’t, I imagine, be as taxing as writing a novel. I do want to write a novel, but I think the time has to be right for me to do that. Hopefully the Universe will show me the point at which that work is to be begun. The Universe is, on the whole, to be trusted. It showed me it was time to write this one-year living memoir, and will, I hope, tap me on the shoulder, cough politely, and tell me it’s time to write a full on blockbuster, one day. Hopefully.
Before I pop the links up, and ask you to buy yourself a paperback or a Kindle copy, I want to pause to give thanks to two people. Naturally they are acknowledged in the book, but they stand strong and tall in my life. Firstly my wife, Sarah Wynne Kordas. She doesn’t stand that tall (she’s nearly five foot three) but she is unstoppable, and often finds the strength to keep me going when I don’t have it in myself, and picks me up when I am down. I am very lucky she chose me. Secondly my Best Friend, Swaggers – also known as the artist, Gary Dadd. The man who saved my life in Guatemala, 20 years ago, and who did an amazing job on producing the word portrait of me that is the cover to Fifty. You can learn more about his amazing portraiture and other works here: https://www.garydadd.com/
So, here we are. Firstly a link to Fifty, and then a link to Lunch in Moldova? If you finish up adding either of them to your bookshelf, then I wish you happy reading:
Have a happy Christmas and a blessed and blissful 2025.
Love,
Chris x
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