Now releasing: Paraffin Winter by Peter Chowney
Please welcome Peter Chowney to the site, as we begin releasing the serialized audiobook version of his novel, Paraffin Wintercom:
The winter of 1963 was the coldest winter of the century in the UK, at a time when post-war austerity and social class divisions made for a miserable life for many people. These were the days of back boilers, bubble and squeak, paraffin oil stoves, gas works, steam trains, and starting handles. The 1960s technological and social revolution hadn’t happened yet.
Ronnie and Jenny Delaney live in the south coast town of Poole, close by the gas works. They get by – Jenny works in the local pottery and Ronnie runs a paraffin delivery round, helping to keep his grateful customers warm. But then something unexpected turns up on the paraffin round: an eyeball. It doesn’t take Ronnie long to work out that it’s got something to do with his past as a small-time crook, back in the East End of London. Someone’s messing him about. He can handle it. Or so he thinks.
But things start to get complicated, and he quickly finds himself way out of his depth. It’s going to take someone cleverer than Ronnie to get to the bottom of this one. And that someone is closer than he could ever have imagined …
The first five episodes are out. You get to choose between a custom feed — you control how often episodes are released — and the default feed, where you get everything we have as we have it. Either way, you’ll get the complete audiobook as soon as Peter has uploaded all the episodes!
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February 5th, 2010 at 2:57 am
This really captures the feeling of England in 1962-1963. The attention to detail really brings it to life just as I remember it, and yet it doesn’t feel over-researched. The characters and story seem very alive. I have no idea what the twist or resolution will be so I’m looking forward to find out who’s up to no good in this novel.
February 5th, 2010 at 9:37 pm
first rate!
February 28th, 2010 at 6:36 am
It’s good to listen to all of this again faster than I read it first time. In the first chapter it all sounded so natural, but there was one part I wasn’t sure about. It’s when Ronnie says he doesn’t read much of his paper and ‘the only thing I ever read is the car mags’. I don’t think non-readers tend to say this about themselves. It’s a bit self-aware and self-denigrating and could be fitted in without him being so aware of it. Apart from that it’s a fantastic chapter absolutely crammed full of detail that really comes to life, as do the characters and the accents.