Plumber from London secures publishing deal for 1950s London crime thriller

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Jack Charles, a plumber from South West London, is thrilled to have secured a publishing deal for his debut 1950s London crime thriller, Barley Sugar, available for pre-order with independent publisher Northside House.

The up-and-coming author, aged 43 from Roehampton, spent his early years travelling Europe sleeping on beaches with his ‘hippie’ family and socialising on the estate back home.

Jack shares that growing up on a London council estate helped to shape his writing: "My days were spent watching the antics play out on the street while kicking footballs around the cage on the estate I grew up on.

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"I showed an aptitude for creativity at school but by the time I'd reached my teens, I wasn't particularly interested in education. I’d developed an anti-establishment mentality and dropped out of school before my GCSEs."

Barley Sugar BookBarley Sugar Book
Barley Sugar Book

After working menial jobs, Jack chose to rekindle his childhood ambition of becoming an author after a conversation he’d had previously with his father before he passed away.

"I dabbled in art and music, and soon after my dad died, I took his advice and started taking my writing seriously. I finished my first manuscript, a story about the brutality of love in all forms and the sacrifices we are willing to make to protect and preserve that love, and I began submitting my story to publishers."

A few months later, Jack was thrilled to have signed a publishing deal with Independent Publisher, Northside House, who are delighted to have acquired the gritty urban London crime thriller.

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"Jack comes from a background which so seldom leads to a career as a writer," says Northside House Founder Chris Jackson. "Yet, when I saw what he’d attempted, a new Teddy Boy novel with depth, I thought ‘wouldn’t that be something?’ and with each perfectly sculpted line of prose I grew more excited to see that he’d nailed it. Barley Sugar is an outstanding debut."

Barley Sugar is available for pre-order now with a release date set for later this year.

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