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A Mod Epic – The Jimmy Mack Saga.
On New Year’s Eve, 1969, I was twenty. At the time I didn’t appreciate how lucky I had been to have lived through the best decade of my life. At least, not until I retired and reflected on my time as a young Mod between late 1965 and 1969. Those years shaped and influenced my life more than I imagined.
I always wanted to write, but a busy career and family life prevented me. Shortly after retiring, I wrote a rough first draft of what became the first chapter of Jimmy Mack (Some Kind of Wonderful). Three years later, on trip to Malta, I found the inspiration to complete the rest of the novel. By the time I returned home, the rough draft had been completed. I also had an outline plan for a ten-novel saga and related novels. So far, I’ve written four of the projected ten and one of the related novels. (Alice).
Mack is everything Quadrophenia’s Jimmy is not. Sharp and smart is not only a description of his appearance, these are also his personal qualities. This is a clever, quick-witted, and determined young man. He can be utterly ruthless and dangerous when the need arises, showing no fear in violent confrontations.
So far, there are four main novels, three of which form the 1967 trilogy. When completed, the saga will trace Mack’s life and those of his friends from 1964 to 1969.
Some Kind of Wonderful, the first novel in the series, reveals how he meets Effy Halloran and Angie Thornton. The drug-fuelled, Sixties all-nighter club scene and Soul music form the backdrop to their lives as they struggle with family problems and secrets. These two girls will become best friends and one day will form a strange, shared lovers’ triangle with him.
In the second novel, Strong Love (The first 1967 novel of the trilogy) a fateful encounter at Angie’s eighteenth party will lead her, Mack, and Effy into a new life in London’s Swinging Sixties fashion world. Their mutual passion for fashion creates the perfect opportunity to have new careers. Once in London, their future lives change for good, but there are those who are out to stop their runaway success.
Let the Good Timers Roll (the second 1967 novel) see the trio achieve fame and fortunes. Along the way, Mack and his girls find themselves in all the iconic Mod clubs of Manchester and London. Touted as a teen David Bailey, Mack and Angie follow Effy to London. She is a rising fashion designer, while Angie is set to become a top model. their lives begin to change. As their fame grows, it takes them to London, Spain, and New York. Along the way, they encounter fresh intrigue, deceit, and malice. These nearly destroy the threesome’s unusual relationship. Not everyone wants them to succeed some are keen to destroy them. They take the plunge and move to London. A new life is set to begin in Chelsea, next to the fashionable King’s Road, when Effy Halloran mysteriously disappears.
The New Breed (the third 1967 novel) sees Mack searching for answers about Effy’s disappearance as he and Angie establish their modelling agency in Soho. At every turn, someone appears determined to spoil and destroy their success. Scandals involving aristocrats, dangerous Greek shipping tycoons, and the lives of their various friends’ inter-twine with their lives. Will they forget their roots as they find themselves drawn into the Sixties celebrity circus, enjoying the high life?
Alice (Dying is simple. It’s coming back when things get interesting). is a related series novel. One which links to the main novels. Alice Liddell is one of Mack’s models and a close friend of Angie Thornton. Her story is strange and not to be taken at face value. It’s an allegorical tale that should get everyone thinking about who they are. This eighteen-year-old is not who she appears. Her story fills gaps in the other novels. If pressed, I like to say it should be man-datory reading for men, if they want to understand the world through female eyes. Sorry, I cannot say more about it as this would be a serious spoiler.
As an author, I write novels that can be read as superficial tales. But there are also much deeper levels and themes for readers to find. Don’t expect to find any mention of Brighton and beachfront battles. They are a Mod cliché. There was far more to Sixties Mods than what happened in 1964. Mods came from different backgrounds and had ambitions beyond drugs, dancing, and getting impeccably dressed. They understood when you became twenty-one, you were expected to become an adult. This was the way of their world in the Sixties.
One of the 'Halloran Trinity' sisters/models featured in the Jimmy Mack series of novels.
The world was changing and 1968 was the year when the Swinging Sixties ended... The times were most definitely changing...
Joy Heatherington arrived as they were enjoying a casual chat. They heard her struggling up the stairs. Mack went out and saw the slight girl lugging a suitcase. She also had a large shopping bag filled with possessions. He went to her rescue. Childlike in appearance, she was drawn and appeared exhausted by the effort of carrying these things.
The suitcase was heavy. Jokily he asked, “Have you got a dead body in there?”
“I’m sorry I am late, I had to pack all my things. The place where I was staying, the people there asked me to leave today.” Her trembling voice spoke more than her words. She gave him a shy wan smile, her eyes verging on tears.
Mack noticed her dry lips. The girl looked faint and in need of a drink. Aileen made her sit down and asked if she’d had anything to drink or eat for breakfast. She shook her head. Mack went and put the kettle on in the tiny kitchenette area. When it boiled, Aileen made her a cup of tea and offered her the egg sandwiches she had packed for her lunch. Something told Mack the girl was a homeless runaway. Eighteen? The girls were right. Probably fifteen was a more accurate guess. She had to be Grace or Sara’s age. That might pose some problems. He exchanged glances with Aileen, no words necessary. Each understood the other.
'Mystique' is a fictional fashion magazine featured in my Sixties novels. With the help of AI, I have conjured up a few of my leading characters. Angie Thornton is a model and one of Mack MacKinnon's live-in lovers. This is one of her 'Mystique' front cover appearances. (Jun 1, 1968). Effy Halloran is the other live-in lover and one of the main characters in the Jimmy Mack series/saga.
Mystique, March 1968. Angie Thornton front page model.
Visit
https://johnknightnovelist.wixsite.com/mysite
to learn more.
It’s 1966. Alice has a secret but no one could possibly have guessed what it was. Who is Alice Liddell?
Author website: [https://johnknightnovelist.wixsite.com/mysite](https://johnknightnovelist.wixsite.com/mysite)
Amazon: [https://www.amazon.co.uk/Alic.../dp/1803022213/ref=sr_1_1](https://www.amazon.co.uk/Alic.../dp/1803022213/ref=sr_1_1)
FeedARead.com: [https://www.feedaread.com/books/Alice-9781803022215.aspx](https://www.feedaread.com/books/Alice-9781803022215.aspx)
Barnes Noble:
[https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/alice-john-knight/1140483699?ean=9781803022215](https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/alice-john-knight/1140483699?ean=9781803022215)
Walmart:
[https://www.walmart.com/ip/Alice-Paperback-9781803022215/232443843?from=/search](https://www.walmart.com/ip/Alice-Paperback-9781803022215/232443843?from=%2Fsearch)
For the young at heart. The start of a journey through the 1960s.
The first in the series of the Jimmy Mack novels. Two others are available.
"... it's a book for the ‘grown ups’ of this world, enabling them to dive back into their own past and experience once more the joys, thrills and anxieties of youth."
Sample chapters: johnknightnovelist.wixsite.com
http://johnknightnovelist.wixsite
Paperback/Hardback/Kindle editions from Amazon and other online bookstores.
A brief extract from 'Street Fighting Man' (Jimmy Mack 1968), hopefully out later this year.
"The demonstrators had been in an ugly mood from the start. They were in no mood to compromise with the authorities. Neither were the gendarmerie or the CRS. Around two in the morning, they moved in, firing volleys of tear gas indiscriminately at students and spectators alike. The protestors had prepared. Barricades had been thrown up, and cobblestones had been pulled up as their ammunition. Even with riot shields and helmets for protection, a hurled cobblestone caused serious injury on contact. He had witnessed it for himself as he snapped shot after shot of the clash. Rioters and onlookers alike were struck down indiscriminately in the baton charges The gendarmes made no effort to distinguish between guilty rioters and innocent bystanders."
Photo: Paris, May 1968. The street riots.
Advance notice. The 2nd book in the Jimmy Mack 1968 trilogy, 'Street Fighting Man' will soon be available. (The 7th book in the series).