Irish Author and Poet, Greg McVicker, brings us on three, true life adventures from his childhood while growing up in County Antrim, Northern Ireland.

These hilarious, heartwarming stories will have readers laughing continuously, all the while reflecting on their own memories of yesterday. This book is suitable for all ages!

Every character within The Adventures of Silly Billy are Greg’s family, friends, and people that he knew within his community of Newtownabbey. The street names are also all real. The main character — Silly Billy — is fully based upon Greg himself.

Silly Billy and the Postage Stamp…

In this first adventure, and since his father is away at sea, Billy wants to be like his older brother who assumes the role of being the “Man of the House”, and bosses his siblings around. Given a simple task of posting a letter to their father, this comical true-life story captures the childhood experiences of Irish Author and Poet, Greg McVicker, in how one young boy can take a simple task and make a complete mess of it. The moral of this story is to not try covering up ones’ countless mistakes and mishaps along the way as eventually they will be found out.

Silly Billy and the Good Deed…

In this second adventure, and since the tuck shop at his primary school is all sold out, Billy is asked to help his teacher get her favourite sweets along with his own reward. However, what should have taken only a few moments becomes an amusing escapade that is filled with numerous misfortunes due to Billy not following very specific directions. This hilarious true-life story which takes place in Newtownabbey, Northern Ireland, captures the childhood experiences of Irish Author and Poet, Greg McVicker, and his memories from years gone by. The moral of this story is to try your best, but to also do as one is told to do in the first place.

Silly Billy and the Escape from Carrick Castle…

In this third adventure, Billy is offered a chance to go fishing with his older brother and his mates alongside of the marina beside a Norman castle built in 1177 on the northern shores of Belfast Lough in Carrickfergus. Once there, however, fishing seems to be the last thing on their minds and leads to a troublesome chase within the confines of this mighty structure. This hysterical true-life reflection captures the childhood experiences of Irish Author and Poet, Greg McVicker. The moral of this story is that your freedom might not quite be your fate, especially when your father comes home.

Storytelling