Is this thing on?

So…my last post was back in April. That’s… not great. In my defence, I got post-PhD fatigue and could not bear the idea of writing. I had a couple of months doing other things. I needed the break.

With the arrival of summer, I locked myself away and started writing a novel. As you can see from the above image, I finished it, and it’s ready to go, assuming the proof is okay. Fingers Crossed, it will be available on Amazon from February 2nd.

The back cover blurb reads thus:

“What the fuck am I doing?”

For decades, those six words have haunted Jake Porter. Once, life was loud, sweaty, and ecstatic — nights spent screaming out his wild youth in the safe environs of ‘The Vault,’ fuelled by the music of the ‘Second Liverpool Explosion’ and the electric presence of his best friend, Wez. But then the music changed, Wez left, and Jake’s world spiralled into a void of addiction and violence.

Thirty years later, standing in the lobby of a hotel built on the bones of their old stomping ground, Jake is ready to face the past.

From the neon-soaked dance floors of 1986 to the sun-drenched coast of Greece, this is a heart-rending saga about the people who break us and the people who put us back together. It is a story of grief, loss and healing, proving that while we cannot change the past, we can build a better future.

With a cast of unforgettable characters—from the indomitable Deb to the tragic Josie — Jake and Wez discover that found family is the strongest bond of all.

A story for anyone who has searched for redemption, and anyone who believes it’s never too late for a second chance.”

It has been favorably compared to writers like Douglas Stuart (Shuggie Bain), Julian Barnes (The Sense of an Ending), and Patrick Gale (Take Nothing With You). Someone also mentioned Irvine Welsh but I think that was because of the mention drugs.

Anyway. February 2nd. Whoo!