Writing this post was fun, but it was surprisingly difficult to choose which tracks to include.
Daydream Believer – The Monkees
Davy Jones from the Monkees was my first ever heartthrob. I had a picture of him on my wall as a teenager, also the album Headquarters by the Monkees was the first ever album I bought for myself. Daydream Believer and its message to cheer up has been a lasting favourite ever since. I think I have believed my daydreams – I’ve changed career three times, I dreamed about being a publisher writer and I am.
Waiting For The Sun to Break – James Bay
Just to show I can like more modern stuff! I listened to this a lot when I was writing my third book for Choc Lit, Christmas at Borteen Bay. This is my hero Ethan talking …
Spirit – Chris de Burgh
I’ve put this one in the middle, because although I love it, but it always makes me feel a bit sad too. This is the song I have declared I’d like played at my funeral.
Son of a Preacher Man – Dusty Springfield (link is for Sarah Connor version I like)
This one always makes me smile as my husband’s father was a Church of England minister. I believe that my husband and I were truly meant to be together, as I fell in love with his photograph when having a look at an online dating website for a laugh. At the time we lived two hundred miles apart, so I imagined any relationship to be a non-starter – we’ve been married sixteen years!
Born to be Wild – Steppenwolf
I’ve recently had a prolonged period of illness and it wasn’t until I started to get better that I realised I hadn’t been able to stand listening to music when I was ill. Added to that, I realised that for all of my life I have had song lyrics playing in my head and usually coming out of my mouth in the shower! I felt a ray of hope for the future one morning when I woke with the lyrics of this song playing in my head and scared my son to death by asking Alexa to play it full blast in the kitchen at 6am! The fact that the lyrics were in my head again was a positive sign and the words seemed to be screaming at me that I will get better.
The Truth Lies Buried
now available as an ebook, paperback and audiobook
Two children in a police waiting room, two distressed mothers, a memory only half remembered …
When Jenny Simpson returns to the seaside town of Borteen, her childhood home, it’s for a less than happy reason. But it’s also a chance for her to start again.
A new job leads to her working for Carver Rodgers, a man who lives alone in a house that looks like it comes from the pages of a fairy tale – until you see the disaster zone inside …
As Jenny gets to know Carver she begins to unravel the sadness that has led to his chaotic existence. Gradually they realise they have something in common that is impossible to ignore – and it all links back to a meeting at a police station many years before.
Could the truth lie just beneath their feet?
About Morton S. Gray
Morton lives with her husband, two sons and Lily, the tiny white dog, in Worcestershire, U.K. She has been reading and writing fiction for as long as she can remember, penning her first attempt at a novel aged fourteen. She is a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association and The Society of Authors.
Her debut novel The Girl on the Beach was published after she won Choc Lit Publishing Search for a Star competition. The story follows a woman with a troubled past as she tries to unravel the mystery surrounding her son’s headteacher, Harry Dixon. This book is available as a paperback and e-book.
Morton’s second book for Choc Lit The Truth Lies Buried is another romantic suspense novel, the book tells the story of Jenny Simpson and Carver Rodgers as they uncover secrets from their past. This book is available as an e-book, paperback and audiobook from 12 March 2019.
Christmas at Borteen Bay was published in November 2018 and is Morton’s first Christmas novella. It is set in her fictional seaside town of Borteen and follows the story of Pippa Freeman who runs the Rose Court Guesthouse with her mother and local policeman Ethan Gibson as they unravel a family secret as Christmas approaches.
Morton previously worked in the electricity industry in committee services, staff development and training. She has a Business Studies degree and is a fully qualified Clinical Hypnotherapist and Reiki Master. She also has diplomas in Tuina acupressure massage and energy field therapy. She enjoys crafts, history and loves tracing family trees. Having a hunger for learning new things is a bonus for the research behind her books.
You can catch up with Morton on her website http://www.mortonsgray.com, on
Twitter – @MortonSGray, her Facebook page – Morton S. Gray Author – https://www.facebook.com/mortonsgray/ and Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/morton_s_gray/
Purchasing links for The Girl on the Beach at http://www.choc-lit.com/dd-product/the-girl-on-the-beach/
Purchasing links for The Truth Lies Buried at http://www.choc-lit.com/dd-product/the-truth-lies-buried/
Purchasing links for Christmas in Borteen Bay at https://www.choc-lit.com/dd-product/christmas-at-borteen-bay/
JO LAMBERT 
Enjoyable reading about your fabulous life Alison. Such variety. And a hubby from the Internet too…another friend has been married to her internet blind date for almost 15 years now. How cool of you both. I have been working on the family tree 40+ years, such fun as you know. So enlightening. The Monkees, I was not a huge fan but I loved the songwriting of those providing their material. For me, Dusty is Preacher Man and other versions never cut it in my humble opinion, but what a fab choice of songs. Steppenwolf reminds me of one of their gigs at a Strawberry and Garlic Festival in California when they flew in t perform – from somewhere exotic forgotten now – and they were amazing. Loved it. Good luck with your writing and research. Thanks, Jo, for hosting Alison, such fun.
Thank you for your comment. I’m wondering if you think I’m someone else though – Alison? I hope you have found some exciting things in your family tree. Mine is quite ordinary but fascinating nonetheless 😄
Sorry I meant you. Brain not engaged today. 3 days no proper sleep and sickness. Smack my legs!
No problem – I was just worried in case a case of mistaken identity lol. Hope you feel much better soon 💝
Lol. I think I am in an unstoppable decline these days. Appreciated. Such a fun post in any case xx
Thank you for having me over, Jo 😄 It was a difficult post to write, but I’m very pleased with the result. ❤️