“Harrowing but wonderful” - Jane Jesmond
When his beloved little brother is stolen away, five-year-old Tommy Farrier is left alone with his alcoholic mam, his violent step-dad and his guilt. Too young to understand what has really happened, Tommy is sure of only one thing. He is to blame.
Tommy tries to be good, to live-up to his brother’s increasingly hazy memory, but trapped in a world of shame and degradation he grows up with just two options; poverty or crime. And crime pays. Or so he thinks.
A teenage drug-dealer for the vicious Burns gang, Tommy’s life is headed for disaster, until, in the place he least expects, Tommy sees a familiar face… And then things get a whole lot worse.
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“Ingenious idea, brilliantly executed” - The Daily Mirror
Can you find the famous person hidden in every story? And once found, can you understand them?
Backstories – ‘the stand-out most original book of the year’ - is a collection of stories each told from the point of view of one of my personal heroes, (or villains) back when they were just another Jew or black, or queer – back when they were nobody. Bullied, assaulted or psychologically abused, their road to redemption was never easy, and for some there would be no redemption, only a descent into evil.
These are people you know, but not as you know them. Peel back the mask and see.
What’s new?
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Gold Medal for Backstories
I’m delighted to report that Backstories has won the international Readers Favorite Awards, and been awarded the GOLD MEDAL for the best short story collection of 2021.
Read more here.
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On the radio with KRBE Houston, Texas
Many thanks to the mighty Freddy Cruz for a great chat about Backstories and all things bookish, and what they make of it over the pond.
Have a listen here.
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Podcasts
I’ve also enjoyed chatting to:
The very insightful, Brad King on his Writers’ Jam podcast. Listen here.
Jamie & Emma at the Write and Wrong Podcast. Listen here.
Local favourites Rachel and Emma at the Northern Connection, where I was privileged to be invited onto their first-ever podcast. Listen here.
My Backstories Quest
“Whatever happened to, all of the heroes?” The Stranglers 1977
I was twelve years old when I first heard this song and although there was something in the feral tone that grabbed me, I didn’t really understand it. I do now. I get the angst and the loss and the emptiness, which is why, in Backstories, I aim to answer the question.
I’m not interested in simplistic tabloid truths of good and evil, success and failure; they clung on too long, drank too much, lost their looks and their charm and generally reminded us that we’re all getting older. That’s not what I want from my heroes. What I want is to find the spark, to dig down into their pain, their passions and their imperfections, and show you our heroes as they truly are.
So join me on my quest. Let’s bypass the obvious, the tedious and the dull, and brave the deeper, darker paths where treasures may be found. Together we’ll uncover the fears and doubts that made our heroes what they were, and perhaps catch a glimpse of ourselves along the way.
Whatever happened to all of the heroes?
They turned out to be human beings, in all their diverse glory.
– Simon Van Der Velde
Promoting Diversity
We are proud to be sharing 30% of all profits from the sale of Backstories between Stop Hate UK, The North East Autism Society and Friends of the Earth.