Debut novel is 'chick-lit for men'
by Tim Hopewell
A former Broadbridge Heath man's debut novel The Drought has been described as 'chick-lit for men'.
Steven Scaffardi, who used to work for a local paper in Crawley, said his book has received positive feedback from TV presenters and has been described as similar humour to The Inbetweeners.
"I decided to leave the life of a journalist behind me in 2005 and joined the dark side of sales for purely financial reasons, but I still enjoyed writing in my spare time," he said.
"Several times I have tried writing a novel, but often I would try and write about things I thought were cool or edgy, like crime or gangsters.
"The big problem was I knew nothing about this world and after about three chapters I would inevitably re-read my work and laugh at it. Not really the reaction I was going for.
"In 2009 I decided to write The Drought after growing tired of my girlfriend making me watch ridiculous rom-coms or telling me about the chick-lit book she was reading at the time.
"The one thing that always struck me was how these men are portrayed. Your normal run-of-the-mill guy would not react to situations like these men did.
"I needed to put a few wrongs right, no matter how much women might not like what they read this is how men really think."
The Drought was published on September 24 and is available through Amazon and bookshops.
Steve now lives in Surrey, although his parents still live in Broadbridge Heath.
He has also been performing stand-up comedy since January and has performed at open mic venues across London.
"A friend of mine who does stand-up comedy encouraged me to give it a go at the start of he year, so after several drinks I got up on stage at a pub in Stockwell and did five minutes of comedy," he said.
"I told the story of how I awkwardly lost my virginity, a story which unfortunately ended up with me describing my terrible performance in bed as being down to hayfever!
"I loved the buzz I got from making people laugh, and I have just kept going on the London open mic scene.
"I do about two gigs a week now. I share funny observations combined with self-deprecating humour about life as a 30-something man, especially stories about how hopeless I am with the opposite sex.
"The comedy is something I feel goes well with the book, as a lot of people have told me they can relate to the stories I am telling."
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