10 YEARS OF PAYING FOR THE PAST
Many thanks to readers, interviewers, press reporters, bookshops and book groups, for their support since Paying for the Past was launched at Steyning Book Shop in 2014. The book created more interest than I’d anticipated.
Front-page headlines and two TV documentaries - BBC Everyman: Miller and Bellord in 1979 & Cineflix: Crime Scene Psychics Southern Organs in 2008, exposed the original fraud. My inside story was yet to be revealed.
A TV screenwriter asked about TV and film rights. Further enquiries regarding acquisition of film and TV rights came ‘out of the blue’ from a London agency, and then a film company. Following interviews, all three parties are working together hoping that a film or mini-TV series will evolve.
Paying for the Past is available from Amazon in paperback, hardback and on Kindle.
GOOD NEWS
17th August 2023
Latest Five Star review
This true crime story should be made into a film.
This true crime novel is a compelling, intriguing and personal, compassionate adventure story. It is so honestly written and fascinating to read through Geoff's journey and life. It highlights how human nature, behaviour, manipulation and trust can influence our actions, even though we do not see the danger, or criminal activity lying ahead. You will not want to put it down and you will not be disappointed. Absolutely brilliant. And you could not make it up. H.Grant
2nd May 2023
Forty years after my adventure to Priest Island with Jim Miller and John Bellord, Carol and I took Ullapool pals Eve and Duncan back to the scene of the crime depicted in my book Paying for the Past. It turned out to be the best weather of the year.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHYp1bENc_E
12th March 2023
So good to meet ex-racing driver John Bartlett and his wife Mary. John is the best-selling author of Chequered Justice,
a must-read thriller of a book.
We’ve been communicating over the past few years, but this was the first time we’d met. And what a meeting it was!
The four of us pondered the miscarriages of justice and skulduggery which goes on in the world of motor racing.
10th July 2022
A screenwriter, a London agency and a film company. All three have requested film and TV rights for my story. They cannot be named while negotiations are underway. Watch this space!
HARDBACK LAUNCH
2022 - Following the publication of Paying for the Past in 2014, my book is now available in hardback from Amazon.
Amazon and KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing) have made a fine job of adapting the paperback format and paper quality. Many thanks to my cover designer, Cathy Helms, for re-formatting the cover.
OCTOBER 2021. Thanks to Jason & Colin, my books are now available to be borrowed, read and returned to this tiny library at Strangford Lough, Northern Ireland.
Red K6 telephone box on Castle Street, Strangford, is still operational, but the box has also been adopted as a free lending library and is stocked with books.
Over four years since Paying for the Past was published - and still getting good reviews.
Five Star Review on Amazon
CG Besley 20 July 2020
This is an extraordinary story which you couldn't make up, but it really happened. Brilliantly and honestly written by the author who was unwittingly involved in sheltering two criminals. A naive young man, he simply knew the pair of men as his employers who over a period of time became friends in whom he placed misguided loyalty. A really good read.
Successful launch of THE 22ND FLOOR at The Steyning Book Shop 16th October 2019
Now available on Amazon in paperback and on Kindle and @
Steyning Book Shop, 106 High Street, Steyning, West Sussex BN44 3RD
Reading the proof of my latest book, THE 22ND FLOOR.
March 21st 2019: Latest 5 star review for 'Brenda' on Amazon, by bwinbolt
Interesting reversal of roles has me gripped!
We are supposed to abhor the actions of the villain and sympathise with the victim. Here things are the wrong way round! I found my sympathies lay with the villain and I felt only scorn for the 'victim'.
From the start, the plot drew me in. A simple theme which, in some form, we've all played out in our imaginations, laced with dry humour and cleverly spun right until the final pages.
Revenge is something we can all relate to. It's a powerful urge but unless we tame it, it soon turns on us. This is what the 'heroin' came to learn but by then it was too late in the game to change things. This adds another dimension for the author to play with, which he does with the delicate ease of a seasoned writer.
So there's a good plot, a contemporary theme, humour, and nobody really gets hurt (unless you can call 'comeuppance' painful). There is also the potential to open moral debate with several dimensions, which seems to me to make the book a natural for book clubs to add to their list.
Oh! And I've added a new verb to my vocabulary: Kartchered.
March 2019: Paying for the Past is sold globally on Amazon, but how touched I was to get this iPhone clip from a young Lithuanian who'd enjoyed the story. Kornelija had been reading Paying for the Past - in English -on Brighton beach.
15th September 2018:
A nice surprise to find this global site selling my four books. I had no idea!
https://www.fantasticfiction.com/g/geoff-green/paying-for-the-past.htm
10th September 2018: ASHURST WOMENS INSTITUTE invited me to talk about my writing and career in osteopathy. 'Paying for the Past; my true life crime story' was high on the list. A very warm welcome and lively Q&A session.
Ullapool Bookshop and a small teashop (Stepping Stones) in a corner of Wester Ross, has sold over 500 copies of my book Paying for the Past. (Population of Ullapool is around 1500). I am most grateful.
Website for my books:
www.geoffgreen.co.uk
Return to Priest Island
September 21st 2015: The six-minute video (below) was made to 'celebrate' my Return to Priest Island after forty years.
Priest Island
Horsham Library
Tuesday 9th May 2015:
A talk to publicise my book.
At first, only a few people turned up. I was disappointed but started the talk anyway.. Five minutes later, a whole coach load piled in and a healthy Q&A session followed.
Sunday March 1st 2015 - Podcast with Barry Winbolt MSc. trainer, mediator, psychotherapist and writer
December 12th 2014 BOOK REVIEW Ullapool Bookshop
12th December 2014 - BOOK REVIEW - By Don Shaw, Ullapool Book Shop
Paying for the Past - by Geoff Green
Geoff Green's gritty memoir tells how, as a young builder in the early 1960s, he fell in with two men who would wheel and deal their way via sharp financial practices into running several high-profile and apparently successful businesses, even sponsoring a car in the British Grand Prix in the mid-1970s.
Then, as their illegal dealings were about to be exposed, these two characters, with the author's help, staged fake suicides and fled from the south of England to the Summer Isles and to Priest Island, where they remained holed up for nearly nine months in 1975-76.
Eventually getting off the island, they were staying on Moss Road, Ullapool, when they were 'betrayed' and the police swooped. Jail sentences followed. The case made front-page headlines in the south of England. But, as the author says, little of the case is remembered up here.
Though not a present to be given to someone of a delicate disposition (the author comes from a tough and troubled background, to put it mildly), the book reads well and some of the passages dealing with getting to Priest Island in the autumn of 1975 are edge-of-the-seat stuff.
There is, however, very little about the experiences of the two runaways' stay on the island, as both men are now dead and that story cannot be told first-hand. But in its own way, theirs was quite an amazing modern-day feat, to last so long out there undetected, living by their wits off the land and sea.
Saturday December 20th 2014 - STEYNING BOOK SHOP - 11am 'till 12.30pm
Geoff will be signing more copies of his book 'Paying for the Past'.
December 10th 2014 - Goring Road Readers and Paying for the Past
Goring Road Readers watched the DVDs of the BBC Everyman (1980) and ITV Crime Scene Psychic's (2008) programmes. Miller and Bellord and psychic Bob Cracknell get the opportunity to defend their case and the group get a chance to see the characters of, Paying for the Past 'live'. Thanks to Essa for introducing me to her book group and Val and Don for hosting. Members contributed scrummy food for our superb lunch!
November 19th 2014 - Coastway Radio Interview
Interview with Rosemary Allix for 'The Book Corner' on Coastway Hospital Radio at Abbey Road Studios (Brighton not London!).
http://www.mixcloud.com/RosemaryA/geoff-green-paying-for-the-past-on-coastway/
October 23rd 2014 - Steyning Herald
BOOK REVEALS LINK TO INFAMOUS FRAUD CASE.
This was the headline to an article by Elaine Hammond in this weeks Steyning Herald, followed by:
'Book lovers learned of a Steyning Osteopath's secret past, linking him to an infamous 1970's fraud...
http://www.shorehamherald.co.uk/news/local/book-reveals-link-to-infamous-fraud-case-1-6367617
October 15th 2014 - Goring Road Readers
Essa Timms chose 'Paying for the Past' as her book club read. I spent a most enjoyable afternoon, as guest author, with the 'Goring Road Readers'. It was an uplifting and entertaining afternoon amongst very enthusiastic readers. The question and answer session was particularly engaging. Many thanks to Essa and the group for such a memorable occasion.
October 9th 2014 - Paying for the Past - Book Launch
The book launch of Paying for the Past was a great success. Many thanks to all those who came, and a very big thank you to Sara, Rob, Gudrun and Gill at The Steyning Book Shop for making it so pleasurable. And Andy for taking the pics!
September 30th 2014 - Argus Article
Rachel Millard interviewed me for the Argus newspaper. The full two page spread has been published today. The following link is an associated clip. http://www.theargus.co.uk/opinion/comment/11503863.How_far_would_you_go_to_help_a_friend_/
October 10th 2014 - Paying for the Past Book Launch
The book launch of Paying for the Past was a great success. Many thanks to all those who came, and a very big thank you to Sara, Rob, Gudrun and Gill at The Steyning Book Shop for making it so pleasurable.
September 25th 2014 - Essa's book group
Essa Timms chose, Paying for the Past, as her book club read for this month and invited me, as guest author, to a meeting with the group in October.
September 13th 2014 - Steyning Book Shop
If you're local, you can pick up a copy of Paying for the Past in-store at:
Steyning Book Shop, High Street Steyning, BN44 3RD Tel: 01903 81206 Facebook: http://on.fb.me/1AKsc9E
September 6th 2014 - City Books
If you're local, you can pick up a copy of Paying for the Past in-store at: City Books, 23 Western Road, Hove, BN3 1AF, Brighton's independent book shop. http://www.city-books.co.uk/ Tel: 01273 725306
August 29th 2014 - Paperback launch
Paying for the Past is now available on Amazon in paperback (as well as Kindle). http://amzn.to/1sGuJyD. It has been revised, proof read by Julia Gibbs, formatted by Allen of eBformat with a new cover design by Cathy Helms of Avalon Graphics.
August 14th 2014 - Cathy Helms of Avalon Graphics redesigned my book cover ready for relaunch and paperback version.
July 24th 2014 - Paying for the Past, soon out in paperback.
Proof reader Julia Gibbs has just finished work on my revised manuscript. Cathy Helms of Avalon Graphics in the US is designing a new cover. When completed, the revised book will be available from Amazon in paperback and on Kindle. Hopefully next month..
April 20th 2014 - Geoff Green, Guest Author - BOOK GROUP - Read, Write, Review, Discuss. We discuss all aspects of books and hold regular guest spots with some interesting guests
This was posted to the group: Don't forget our Guest Spot tomorrow April 20th with true life crime author Geoff Green. Take a sneak peak at his book on Amazon for some ideas of what to ask him. 7pm UK time, 8pm, European time and you'll have to Google for times in other time zones.
My Comment: There's a lot of energy in this group and some interesting questions about my writing, including my yet to be published novels: The Sand Hide and Cold Friends. Some searching questions about Paying for the Past: why I wrote the story, research problems, opposition to it being written, my interviews with BBC and Cineflix etc. I had a great time and many thanks to Tottie Limejuice for her support and guidance throughout the interview.
April 7th 2014 - Book Club reads, Paying for the Past
Delighted once again to be chosen for a Steyning Book Club read. Crissy Smith chose Paying for the Past and seven members met at Westering for a lively chat over tea and cake - and some very interesting questions. The way the scam actually worked still generates much interest. I'm not sure, even now, of the complexities of it all, except to reiterate that it was about doing dodgy things with hire purchase agreements, finance houses, the church and gullible nominees. I may take another look at the way I explain it in the book...
We discussed how psychology and charisma can convince us vulnerable human beings of almost anything if the perpetrators get their 'script' right. Miller and Bellord's 'escape' to Priest Island stimulated much discussion too. Interesting to note how much I relive those scenes each time they play out under questioning. But delighted to be amongst such enthusiastic readers.
March 17th 2014 - 1975 Formula One disaster
From my Southern Organs, Racing Promotions Manager, days...Discovered this clip of the 1975 British Grand Prix which ended in disaster for our Formula One driver Dave Morgan, car number 19 - amongst a host of others. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9mXWqLjGd8
March 10th 2014 - Autosport
Been asked for this Nostalgia link again: The mysterious Geoff Green; This thread appeared in Autosport... http://bit.ly/1ejy1mF
March 6th 2014 - Book update
My book has been out two weeks and showing nine (9) '5 star' reviews. You can check them out at: http://amzn.to/1fyxvhy
February 18th 2014 - Launch of Paying for the Past on Amazon Kindle.
Link on Read the Book page.
January 23rd 2014. Redesign of book cover for Kindle Amazon Launch.
After much thought and on learning that my book cover will be viewed postage stamp size on Amazon Kindle's search pages, I decided to redesign the cover. In addition to size reduction, the front of the book will be seen on most Kindle Readers in black and white. I think it looks pretty good. Feed back would be appreciated
January 22nd 2014. The Psychic Detective. In his recent book, The Lonely Sense: The Autobiography of a Psychic Detective, In Chapter 15, Robert Cracknell tells of his involvement with the Southern Organ's fraud. There are flaws in his account, as there were in his previous book, Clues to the Unknown and his article in the magazine, Prediction.
When Bob Cracknell and Daily Express Crime reporter Norman Luck interviewed me about my part in the crime, Cracknell didn’t let on he was a psychic. This gave the impression he was part of Norman Luck's investigative team. Following that meeting, Bob Cracknell mentioned that I had complained to the police about 'harrassment' during the interview. That was not true. No need to mention all his mistakes, except to say there were a number.
January 16th 2014
Rainbow Book Club reads Paying for the Past.
Terry Davies and her Steyning book club bravely chose my unpublished (must be an all time first for a book club) true crime story for their current book choice. Ruth put on a fantastic meal and we ate and drank our way through a great evening. Carol and I were knocked out by the warmth of the company, the energy and enthusiasm and, while we were at it, we put the world to rights. Thank you all.
January 16th 2014
Meeting with a Detective
Met D.C. Dave Fickweiler for coffee this morning. He's the detective who worked on the fraud squad in 1975. We haven't seen each other since 1976. We talked about Miller and Bellord's arrest in Ullapool, Dave's interview with me at the time and the claim of psychic Bob Cracknell: that he helped solve the case...
January 10th 2014
The mysterious Geoff Green; This thread appeared in Autosport last month... http://bit.ly/1ejy1mF
December 20th 2013
Paying for the Past, is this month's choice for Steyning's 'Rainbow' book club. This is a brave move for those courageous readers and may be an all time first - a book club opting for an unpublished story! A really exciting project for me.
December 3rd 2013
Web's about as good as I can get it without going stir crazy. I may make changes, on the hoof later.
December 2nd 2013
Website trial launch. Andy spots some stuff that needs changing. It's nearly ready...
December 1st 2013
Launch five minute promotional video on You Tube.
November 2013
Andy Batkin previews the five minute promo clip, gives it the thumbs up, and sends it for review to Ana in Portugal and Fiona in Malawi. Hope it travels well.
November 20th 2013
I am in the process of creating my Paying for the Past website. It's still under construction after producing a 5 minute video clip to promote the book. Producing the brief video was a time consuming project. I reckoned it took hours of work for every minute of finally edited film...
September 11th 2013
Carol and I travelled up to Ullapool to try and get some video footage of Priest Island for my website. The weather was too rough (shades of 1975) but our friend Duncan hopes to get some ariel video footage from his pal's private plane.
February 2013
For one week, Paying for the Past, was in the top five most read books on Harper Collin's 'Authonomy' site. (see reviews on my website review page). 'Authonomy' is a site for writers. readers and publishers, conceived and developed by book editors at Harper Collins. http://authonomy.com/