Are you in the book?
Are you in the book?
Page Three: A very London story has been out for just on a week now but already a few people have contacted me to tell me they’ve finished it. A stack of others tell me they’ve knocked over a pretty sizeable chunk.
The one thing pretty much everyone has wanted to know is how much of the character of Paul is based on me. Well, actually it’s usually phrased as ‘please tell me that Paul isn’t based on you’…
The answer is that he is and he isn’t.
Like Paul I was once a very unhappy lawyer. However, I didn’t manage to last as long at it as Paul did. I quit commercial law when I was still in my mid-twenties (way before the decent money kicked in) and went and worked on a building site for a while before then finding myself in a bookshop, legal publishing, journalism, then copywriting.
Also, like Paul I’m married to a beautiful vegetarian woman who worked in publishing. Fortunately though, she doesn’t have that much in common with Sarah, when it comes to personality.
I’d like to think I don’t share too many of Paul’s characteristics… such as being a jealous, depressive alcoholic who drives everyone away with his frequent outbursts.
The reality is none of the characters in Page Three is based entirely on a real person, even if each one of shares at least some characteristics with people I know (for instance I really do know someone who worked as bird exterminator, but he’s nothing like Davo).
What is real is the setting.
Each one of the places Paul and Sarah visit actually exists. The Camberwell flat is the one we actually lived in for the first six months of our time in London. The pubs and restaurants that Paul frequents all exist or at least existed. Camberwell really does have a high security KFC, a menacing ‘Green’ and estates that were in the process of being ripped down.
And London’s ‘Australian’ venues really are crammed to capacity with antipodeans looking for a big night out in their new city.
Anyway, hope that helps answers one of your main questions and that you’re enjoying the read!
Ralph
Page Three: A very London story has been out for just on a week now but already a few people have contacted me to tell me they’ve finished it. A stack of others tell me they’ve knocked over a pretty sizeable chunk.
The one thing pretty much everyone has wanted to know is how much of the character of Paul is based on me. Well, actually it’s usually phrased as ‘please tell me that Paul isn’t based on you’…
The answer is that he is and he isn’t.
Like Paul I was once a very unhappy lawyer. However, I didn’t manage to last as long at it as Paul did. I quit commercial law when I was still in my mid-twenties (way before the decent money kicked in) and went and worked on a building site for a while before then finding myself in a bookshop, legal publishing, journalism, then copywriting.
Also, like Paul I’m married to a beautiful vegetarian woman who worked in publishing. Fortunately though, she doesn’t have that much in common with Sarah, when it comes to personality.
I’d like to think I don’t share too many of Paul’s characteristics… such as being a jealous, depressive alcoholic who drives everyone away with his frequent outbursts.
The reality is none of the characters in Page Three is based entirely on a real person, even if each one of shares at least some characteristics with people I know (for instance I really do know someone who worked as bird exterminator, but he’s nothing like Davo).
What is real is the setting.
Each one of the places Paul and Sarah visit actually exists. The Camberwell flat is the one we actually lived in for the first six months of our time in London. The pubs and restaurants that Paul frequents all exist or at least existed. Camberwell really does have a high security KFC, a menacing ‘Green’ and estates that were in the process of being ripped down.
And London’s ‘Australian’ venues really are crammed to capacity with antipodeans looking for a big night out in their new city.
Anyway, hope that helps answers one of your main questions and that you’re enjoying the read!
Ralph
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Ralph
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Apr 09, 2012 05:00PM
People have been asking me where to buy the book. Page Three: A very London story is available through Amazon and Smashwords.
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Page Three: A very London story is available through Amazon and Smashwords.
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