Your 1970s Memories

The Calamity Chicks books are set firmly in the seventies and are loosely based on things which happened to me - especially the dancing, sailing and skating. And even the bits set in recording studios or featuring bona fide Hell's Angel bikers.
Yep, I had full-on teenage experiences which inevitably find their way into many of my series, one way or another.

I'm hoping several of the things which happen to my beleaguered heroines will resonate - particularly with readers of a certain age brought up in the UK ;)


To give you a clue, here are some examples. Remember these are coming-of-age stories, so they start off young:

Tina's Torment
* Playing in a den in the park
* O-levels/A-levels
* Nasty bully
* School disco at lunchtime
* 6th form sports afternoon (sailing)
* Saturday afternoon shopping - Woolies!
* Cinema showing short film before main feature
* The stench of pot in the uni students union bars
* Dad moaning if a phone call lasted longer than ten minutes

Chloe's Chaos
* Playing British Bulldogs
* Being on the dummy tables
* Nasty homophobic bully
* Peer pressure to “do it”
* Leaving school after O-levels/CSEs
* Near-escape with “bad-lad”
* Saturday afternoon skating
* Dreadful misogynistic rules of biker gangs
* Reuniting with first ever love

Linda's Lament
* I’ll show you mine …
* 11 plus tests – weird brain wiring required to succeed
* Neurotic mother who gave up career when pregnant
* Nasty bullying nuns at convent school
* School musical productions
* Saturday job in recording studio
* Learning to drive – getting first car
* Working in pub – MC club baptism of fire
* Meeting “the one” at uni freshers disco



The next book, Helen's Hazard is now available to pre-order - released on 2nd January 2026.

Helen's Hazard
* Sibling favouritism – cuckoo in nest
* 11 plus test – the consequence of failure
* Gangs guarding gym entrance
* Seeking refuge in school library
* Unsavoury attentions of babysitter
* Discovering real father – life begins
* Falling in love with a different country - Greece
* Tackling a demanding psychology degree
* Taming an arrogant Greek restauranteur



I'd love to know if any of these resonate with you - let me know in a comment
And the first 5 people who add an experience of their 70s - in particular your top 3 songs from that decade - will get a code to download a free copy Tina's Torment.