No Dice: Preview by Nigel Paice

In the back of Ryan's mind lingered a childhood daydream of some day in his own distant future, where he was standing next to a fabulous sporty hatchback, girlfriend by his side, eager to go places. He had the car, he had the girl, he was young, tall, handsome and successful. As the years passed, one by one, the aspects of this dream failed to materialise.

Except the sporty hatchback, for there it was, right in front of him, goading him with its lilting headlights. "Love me, I am your dream car," it whispered seductively in his ear, "We can be anything you want us to be."

And he realised all at once that he hated that car.

It was that unique and special moment in every young man's life: the day he buys his first car and this one had style, class, a pedigree... and a mind of its own.


Reader's Preview
Being a man in his forties, a trip back to the 1980s, which was my heyday, seemed like a great idea. This book didn't fail to disappoint. The attention to era specific detail was spot on (or it was at least to my vague recollections).

Maybe it was because I had a friend with an XR3i AND a 'mobile' phone that I found it so entertaining. Maybe it was because I am a huge fan of the 'Back to the Future' movies? Probably it was a combination of both.

As a reader, I instantly identified with Ryan and found myself agreeing with him on almost every page. We all had a 'friend' like Saul - annoying to the point of wanting to hit him hard with a spanner, but nonetheless still managing to spend a disproportionate amount of time with him.

I'm told this book was written with older teenagers and young adults in mind. What I think it does better than most, is allow us 40-somethings to be those teens and twenties again, even just for a short while, from the safety of our comfy slippers and cocoa. Or maybe that's just me.

No Dice by Debbie McGowan
Coming soon from Beaten Track Publishing