Check out this interview with Sophie Tuson in the Fulham & Hammersmith Chronicle.
Writer spots gap in the market for 'lad lit'
Authors debut novel to be published this month
by Sophie Tuson
A stand-up comedian and former sports journalist is to have his debut novel published.
Steven Scaffardi, 33, who works in Hammersmith, secured a deal with the Brighton-based publishing house Pen Press which will publish his novel The Drought later this month.
Described as an 'entertaining read' by the Daily Telegraph's David Harrison, Scaffardi's novel tells the story of Dan Hilles who, after emerging from a long-term relationship, finds himself out of dating practice and struggling to play 'the game'. It appears the rules have changed.
In desperation, Hilles enlists the help of his stalwart male confidants as they try to bring an end to his 'drought'.
Scaffardi's creative inspiration came from the desire to challange the male stereotypes he found in his girlfriend's novels.
"I thought, that's not what a man would do," he said. Spotting a glaring gap in the literary market, Scaffardi decided to offer up his own slice of 'lad lit' - an alternative and response to the market-saturated 'chic lit' novels.
A regular on the London open mic stand-up comedy circuit since January this year, Scaffardi said there were definite parallels between his 'on-stage' and 'on-page' relationship-based humour, which he compared to that of The Inbetweeners and The Hangover.
He admitted that much in the novel is 'drawn from personal experiences and then exaggerated.'
Indeed, many of the characters are based in part on his own aqaintances. He said: "There are definitely people in there that I know in terms of personality traits."
After numerous attempts at novel-writing, the publication of his debut novel marks the achievement of a life ambition for Scaffardi. He now plans to write a sequel to The Drought and has already mapped out a possible two further novels.
* The Drought is available from September 24 through Amazon and bookshops.
Writer spots gap in the market for 'lad lit'
Authors debut novel to be published this month
by Sophie Tuson
Steven Scaffardi, 33, who works in Hammersmith, secured a deal with the Brighton-based publishing house Pen Press which will publish his novel The Drought later this month.
Described as an 'entertaining read' by the Daily Telegraph's David Harrison, Scaffardi's novel tells the story of Dan Hilles who, after emerging from a long-term relationship, finds himself out of dating practice and struggling to play 'the game'. It appears the rules have changed.
In desperation, Hilles enlists the help of his stalwart male confidants as they try to bring an end to his 'drought'.
Scaffardi's creative inspiration came from the desire to challange the male stereotypes he found in his girlfriend's novels.
"I thought, that's not what a man would do," he said. Spotting a glaring gap in the literary market, Scaffardi decided to offer up his own slice of 'lad lit' - an alternative and response to the market-saturated 'chic lit' novels.
A regular on the London open mic stand-up comedy circuit since January this year, Scaffardi said there were definite parallels between his 'on-stage' and 'on-page' relationship-based humour, which he compared to that of The Inbetweeners and The Hangover.
He admitted that much in the novel is 'drawn from personal experiences and then exaggerated.'
Indeed, many of the characters are based in part on his own aqaintances. He said: "There are definitely people in there that I know in terms of personality traits."
After numerous attempts at novel-writing, the publication of his debut novel marks the achievement of a life ambition for Scaffardi. He now plans to write a sequel to The Drought and has already mapped out a possible two further novels.
* The Drought is available from September 24 through Amazon and bookshops.
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