Firstly, thank you for purchasing my book. Your faith in my abilities is both humbling and much appreciated.
Hobswyke was the first novel I ever wrote and the culmination of decades of work battling dyslexia to a point that I could pen an entire book. Since then, my writing style has changed ever so slightly, and the temptation was to rewrite the entire novel to bring it in line with those changes. But I decided against it, choosing to release it pretty much in its original form to document my own, personal journey.
I’ve had back and forth discussions with my excellent publisher – Troubador – as to what demographic to aim it at, and that proved almost as difficult as writing the book in the first place! The ages of the main protagonists would suggest targeting it towards the older end of the young adult market. But all who were reading my pages as I penned my efforts were very much adult in their years, and all universally loved the experience of reading it, one 69 year old ex-proofreader from Yorkshire even proclaiming, “It scared me bloody sh!%less!”
I personally have never understood why society’s constructs have deemed adults unsuitable for the enjoyment of anything residing beneath the ‘adventure’ banner, specially if that adventure is dark, at times frightening, and dips a cheeky toe in the realm of ‘horror’. I recall reading what percentage of readers of the Harry Potter series were adults, although what’s here is very different to those books.
Life can be cripplingly serious at times, and I believe ultimate escapism is one way to manage those pressures. So here it is, my first ever book, and the third of my efforts to be published. It’s a slow burn at the beginning, but soon gets fully in to it and I promise you it’s a ride. I hope you enjoy reading as much as I enjoyed writing it… A sequel is already underway…