Called ‘Dead To Me‘ it has DC Rachel Bailey and DC Janet Scott partnered for the first time – and of course Rachel still seeing a certain hotshot barrister!

As it’s a prequel, you don’t need to have seen the excellent TV series but obviously it’s a help.

Although this isn’t written by the TV series writer Sally Wainwright, Cath Staincliffe is an award-winning crime novelist who created another hit ITV series – Blue Murder starring Caroline Quentin as DCI Janine Lewis – so we can see why she’d get the official seal of approval.

From what we’ve read of this book, she’s captured both Manchester and the TV series characters well. Cath was on BBC Radio Manchester today talking about her book and it sounds great.

So, for early adventures of your Manchester Metropolitan favourites in novel form, we say: Order Dead To Me now

Also see Top 100 Free UK Kindle Books.

In 2008, Ashley Pharoah and Matthew Graham came up with the idea for Eternal Law after discussing the movie A Matter of Life and Death. In the press pack, Matthew describes it as “a terrific film full to the brim with wonder, romance, imagination and shot through with a sly and cheeky humour”, quoting the script line “There were some who would think it Heaven to be a clerk”.

A Matter of Life and Death is a 1946 British WW2 romantic fantasy by Powell and Pressburger, known in the States as “Stairway to Heaven”. Total Film’s 2004 film critic poll named it the second greatest British film ever made. If the angels among us side of Eternal Law concept appeals, you should pick it up on DVD. It’s not exactly dear.

Certainly, the angels are going to be closer to that movie than other, more serious portrayals, as Matthew Graham says:

We agreed that a serious, portentous take on guardian angels would draw unfavourable comparisons to Wim Wenders’ masterpiece Wings Of Desire. We wanted something that tried to emulate the wit and cheek of the Powell and Pressburger picture. That showed us angels not as luminous, pious beings, disconnected from Human life but as fallible strangers in a strange land. Baffled by this troubled world yet embracing its treats – the food, the drink, the crackling hearth. Struggling with big decisions and challenged by unwanted emotions. In other words, we wanted them to be more like Us.

And what of the lawyer side of things?

We realised that we could let [the characters] loose in a recognisable TV drama format – that of the law show. This would hopefully help the audience find purchase with a new concept. But Eternal Law cannot operate as a regular legal drama. Nor did we want it to. The law stories serve as a mechanism to deliver the characters and put them into conflict. We needed to dispense with policemen and drawn out courtroom scenes. This had to be an ANGEL show, not a law show.

US TV series BOSTON LEGAL proved helpful in this respect. Ash and I loved the way writer David Kelley cut to the chase. Client walks in with a problem and BANG we’re in court a scene later. He knew where the meat of the action was going to lie. Realistic? Nope, not remotely. Exciting? Yes, very much so. And for those who know it, Boston Legal ends each week with the two main characters sitting on a balcony – cigars and brandies in hand. And yes we borrowed that wonderful epilogue. Yes we did. Guilty as charged m’lud.

Except that being angels, Zak and Tom find themselves perched on the top of the York Minster tower, feet dangling fearlessly over the edge as they marvel and fret at a world in terrible danger yet still sparkling with love and joy.

So clearly our other Further Watching suggestion is the complete box set of Seasons 1-5 of Boston Legal.

Eternal Law: it’s A Matter of Life and Death meets Boston Legal. Love it, buy them.

Drew Lotts asks “I have been selling things on eBay and now I have a bunch of money in PayPal. I don’t want to transfer it to my bank, where it will just get spent. I want to buy music from iTunes! I want to buy apps from the App Store! I want to buy books from the iBookstore. But there doesn’t seem to be a way for British people to use PayPal on the iTunes stores. You’re the so-called ‘money spending experts’ – how do I buy iTunes credit with PayPal?”

Well, Drew. There are people who sell iTunes voucher codes over..

Mr Lotts adds “PS. I don’t want anything dodgy or expensive.”

Ah. Well then. We’ve found a trustworthy source of iTunes credit that costs no extra. Buy a £25 iTunes card from GAME Or, Buy a £15 iTunes card from GAME. Whichever you buy, you can pay with PayPal and you’ll get FREE UK DELIVERY. So your £15 costs you £15 and your £25 costs you £25. Not a penny more.

Finding an online store that sells iTunes wasn’t easy. We thought Argos might be the solution, but you can only use PayPal for home deliveries and they don’t deliver iTunes cards. We’re really pleased to be able to recommend a respected high-street brand that solves this common problem.

Just to reiterate, you can convert your PayPal to iTunes credit by clicking here to visit GAME online where you can buy a £15 iTunes gift card using your PayPal balance. Yes, it’s a gift card, but you can give it to yourself!

More mailbag fun next week.

Amazon are offering a selection of free MP3 downloads from top artists. And Matt Cardle.

OK, there’s not a lot of A-sides in here, but music you’ve not heard before from people you have heard of is always a good thing.

Go Now And Pick Your MP3s – it’ll cost you nowt.

Here at Selections we like Laura Marling, but why not download them all? They’re free. Offer ends today.

Until 25 November 2011, you can save £3 on her album.

STEP ONE: Write down or memorise this code: AMAZNMP3

STEP TWO: Click one of these Amazon links: Deluxe Explicit Version (14 tracks) or Standard Explicit Version (11 tracks).

STEP THREE: Add it to your basket, and during checkout enter that AMAZNMP3 code to get £3 off!

Some items do get repeated through the week, but we say if you like what you see, grab it!

Y’see, goods worth under £18 shipped from the Channel Islands to the UK were exempt from VAT. This made prices for UK customers, who compare prices including VAT and don’t particularly care where a company is based. It’s easier to sell a CD for £7.99 when you get all of that, whereas a UK retailer gets £6.66 of a £7.99 inc-VAT price. Of course, the lower overheads of a wholly web-based operation help too and companies like Play.com who have become household names during the past decade of the tax dodge will still sell CDs cheap… just probably not as cheap as they are today.

Amazon will probably still have cheap CDs, but they probably will do much less with their “not us guv” preferred Channel Islands supplier Indigo Starfish.

Here at Selections Towers, we’ve often recommended retailers who were clearly dodging this tax. There are interesting times ahead, but our view is that this is a Good Thing, making it easier for newcomers to set up businesses and operate from their own hometown, rather than having to route delivery through off-shore companies to get within 20% of the competition.

Will there be a big bang on April 1st when the tax dodge ends, or will companies gradually nudge up their prices so they can say there’s no change? What do you think?

Is there bad news? Yes, sadly they currently only ship to the US. And the continental 48 US States at that. But for our loyal readers that live in the States or have loved ones in that fine country, check out Chamilia Beads and Jewelry today.

So a branding strategy like those devised by U2R1 Media goes beyond just a logo – the core essence and mission permeates all communications and ultimately the entire structure and direction of the company. Who are you? Who do you want people to believe you are? How do you express that in everything you do? Good answers to these questions leads to success and growth – both sought after in our current economy.

What brands get your selection?