Get your name in a book

[PeterWithesShin]

Villa have featured in numerous literary works down the years, from a poignant song about the Holte End Hotel to a nonsense verse by John Lennon.

And you could soon join them.

Best-selling author Lee Child is offering one lucky Villa fan the chance to have his or her name included as one of the characters in the 18th Jack Reacher thriller, which Lee is currently writing.

Although he is based in New York, Lee Child was born in the West Midlands and is a lifelong Villa supporter.

Ten of his novels, including his latest book A Wanted Man have included the names of Villa players and managers, including Paul McGrath, John Gregory and Graham Taylor.

His second book, Die Trying, even featured a conversation about the 1982 European Cup final - during a kidnap!

To have a chance of seeing your name in the next Jack Reacher story, we would simply ask you to help us in our quest to compile a list of every claret-and-blue literary reference.

If you're aware of any books, plays or poems where the club are mentioned, please let us know.

All the entries received will go into a draw - with the winner becoming a Lee Child character.

Here's how our list looks at the moment:

Books

Lee Child - Killing Floor, Die Trying, The Visitor, Without Fail, Persuader, The Enemy, Bad Luck And Trouble, The Hard Way, Nothing To Lose, A Wanted Man
Joseph Gallivan - Oi Ref
Derek Robinson - Goshawk Squadron
T E Lawrence - The Letters of T E Lawrence

Poems/Songs

John Lennon - Deaf Ted, Danoota (and me)
Stephen Duffy - Holte End Hotel
Philip Larkin - MCMXIV

If you are aware of other Villa literary references, send your suggestions, together with your name, address and phone number, to Literary Villans, Marketing Department, Aston Villa FC, Villa Park, Birmingham, B6 6HE, or email webmaster@avfc.co.uk.

Lee is scheduled to finish writing his new book next month, so we need your entries as soon as possible.

The closing date is next Monday, March 11.

[Billy Walker]

Harold Pinter's "The Dumb Waiter" has a nice bit of reference to Villa.

http://youtu.be/H1TIgpw3MEg

2.30 onwards for the culture vultures out there.

[Villadroid]

Aston Villa: My Part in its Downfall by Randy Milligan Lerner

[Risso]

Are they going to check every claim do you reckon?  Pick some 1,000 page tome, preferrably out of print, and there you go.

[PeterWithesShin]

Will the books by Danny and Fowler count?

[Risso]

I'll email them with my effort anyway:

Rothmans Football Yearbook 1993-94.  It's even got a Villa player on the front cover.

[hipkiss92]

Divine Comedy, pretty sure Villa under McLeish is one of the nine circles of hell.

[Legion]

"Don't tell him, Pike."

[brian green]

There is bound to be a reference to Villa in Hansard because an early 20th century prime minister, David Lloyd George I think, made the famous comment which is always used about Marie Lloyd the music hall singer, "Birmingham has only two loves, Marie Lloyd and Aston Villa".

I would have also thought there is bound to be a Villa reference in the memoirs of Field Marshall Montgomery who used to go to Villa Park regularly when he was CO of the Warwicks.

[somec]

I seem to recall a Villa reference in the most recent Jonathan Coe novel.

[Jimbo]

Strike Pay, a short story by DH Lawrence, has a Villa reference in it. Also, The Dillen, a memoir by a Stratford man by the name of George Hewins.

[Jimbo]

... Also, have we had that Go-Kart Mozart song that bangs on about Gary Shaw and the Holte End?

[TheMalandro]

I'm sure Lee Hendrie was in several papers regarding his bankruptcy

[tomd2103]

Seen it's mentioned in the list, but From Philip Larkin's Poem 'MCMXIV':

Those long uneven lines
Standing as patiently
As if they were stretched outside
The Oval or Villa Park,
The crowns of hats, the sun
On moustached archaic faces
Grinning as if it were all
An August Bank Holiday lark;

[les spragg]

Just reading "the enemy" by Lee Childs  in this one already he has one charachter called Vassel and one called Carbone coincidence?