When Mark Guterman called about his appearance in 40 by 40

I got a call at the back end of last year from a businessman who I included by name in my 2015 novel 40 by 40. I don't know Mark Guterman well, but met him a few times, through various friends, when he was the owner of Wrexham Football Club. That experience didn't end well for him, or the club. The point of including him was as a warning to the central character about the risks of buying a football club and the fans coming after you if it goes wrong.

Mr Guterman's polite enquiry seemed to be about how a work of fiction can include real people. He also wanted to put me right on his ownership of Wrexham and how it was represented in the book. I explained that what was always important to me was to capture accurately the time and the place - Cheshire 2008. It's not pivotal to the story, but it includes a reference to "the boys" who piled in to join his investment consortium to buy Wrexham. I heard this quite a few times myself at the time. The truth was, Mr Guterman stressed, there were no boys. He did it all by himself, but with some involvement from another investor who he fell out with, Alex Hamilton. There was no consortium and no deal done at the bar of the Stag's Head in Great Warford or after a round at the Mere Golf and Country Club.

My argument, which stands, is that the book wasn't inaccurate. The purpose wasn't to report accurately on every deal that got done and who was involved, but to reflect the myths and bravado of the time too. As Tony Wilson used to say, "faced with the choice between the truth and the legend, always print the legend."

Out of the blue I've had a few more calls and reviews about the book recently. No literary agent has called begging to sign me up, no producers asking for the rights to adapt it for TV, or Hollywood, or a major publisher offering me a mega-deal on the follow-up. Just readers who enjoyed it, who liked the story and more than anything, the linkage between the real world and the one I invented.

It's still available at Amazon for £5.99.  

Talking about 40 by 40 on TV with Fiona Fox of That's Manchester TV

Interview about my book 40 by 40 with Fiona Fox on That's Manchester TV.

Getting stuff done - a week of substance, over and style

If you get the chance go and look around one of the Youth Zones in the North West. You can't just drop in, these are safe places for young people. But go and talk to the volunteers and fundraisers about the outcomes of the work they do, but also how humbling and personally beneficial it has been to everyone who has been involved.

I spent the morning at the Bolton Lads and Girls Club with Nick Hopkinson (pictured), who is a real force of nature. An entrepreneur, adventurer and fund raiser, he spends 80 per cent of his time "messing about and raising money" travelling the world while doing so and shining a great amount of light into this part of Bolton.

Substance

I'll be writing this up for Onside magazine, which I produce for my client Seneca, a business with real substance, incredible reach and deep humility amongst its team members. This was demonstrated in spades two weekends ago when a gang of them romped through Delamere Forest together in the Hellrunner half marathon, raising a chunk of money for the Bolton club. These exercises work on so many levels, yes, the funds for the kids of Bolton, but also the togetherness and greater sense of mission that doing something this engenders.

This connection to the values of a charity is particularly important at a time when Kids Co is being pored over and charities have undoubtedly suffered reputational damage through aggressive fund raising, high salaries and a lack of accountability.

Style

We went to see the new James Bond film on Monday. It was a rare full family outing to something we could all enjoy. Two things stood out. One was the fact that SPECTRE is like a James Bond Greatest Hits tour. The whole band back together for a huge rally for the true fans. The opening scene with skull masks was a top hat tipped towards Live and Let Die, and so it flowed. Secondly, I was struck by how dominant Daniel Craig was in every single shot. He was styled, choreographed, poised and dressed like each scene was a commercial or a pop video. His walk, his every look was an exercise in making the job of his successor an impossible one.

One of my own obsessions is with classic British clothing brands - John Smedley, Clarks, Loakes and the one that was featured in the film to luxurious effect, Sunspel. I love the well made crafted simplicity of their shirts and underwear. They produced the boxer shorts that Nick Kamen wore in the famous Levis laundrette commercial in the 1980s and changed how men dressed down below.

Over

This week has mostly been about getting over the crushing disappointment of the derby day defeat in the East Lancashire t'classico to Burnley. It's never good to lose a game like this, but all we can really do is remind ourselves for those thirty odd years when we were dominant we had a league title, a cup and two promotions to show for it. I can't imagine how unbearable that must have been for them. There is absolutely no danger that our claret cousins will achieve anything like that level of success. We just have to savour the memories.

Finally, we did a Discuss nuclear debate on Thursday this week at the Science Festival and an event in Liverpool to read from my book and sign a few copies. It was great to meet so many new faces, but also made me all the more determined to link everything that I do with something worthwhile. I'm going to start by donating all profits from sales of 40 by 40 to the OnSide charity.

Reviews of 40 by 40 and where to buy it

I've been moderately pleased with the sales for 40 by 40 - but the response from those who've read it has been even better than I could ever have imagined.

I'd love to push you all towards specialist local bookshops like Marple Bookshop, Simply Books in Bramhall and the local authors section of Waterstones on Deansgate. There's a great shop opened in the Northern Quarter, opposite my office, called Chapter One. It's just what the area needs.

If you can't stomach Amazon, and I can understand why, then I've set up a PayPal payment page where another imperial internet behemoth will only take a modest fee and I can send it directly to you. Just click on this button and see what happens.

Here are a selection of reviews anyway, there are others on the Amazon website.

Kevin Sampson, author, Awaydays: "Haha, brilliant! As amoral antiheroes go, Cashmore knocks Gordon Gekko, John Self and Steven Stelfox into a tin hat. What a lovable twat!"

Martin Vander Weyer, business editor of the Spectator: "You are the Martin Amis of this generation. Really enjoying it, but had to Google 'rusty sheriff's badge'."

William Lees-Jones, brewery owner: "Read it on a sun lounger by a pool in Mallorca, the irony of which amuses me - great read and happy not to feature in it."

AK Nawaz, crime writer: "First novel I've read tackling 2008 credit crunch is cracking read - fantastic first book."

Andy Tupholme, private equity investor: "Snippets of genius had me chuckling."

Kristian Dando, business journalist: "I think i'm going to enjoy this."

Steven Lindsay, corporate financier: "The shocking, outrageous, abusive excesses would be unbelievable if they weren't so realistic."

Rachel Thompson, digital wiz: "Really enjoyed the book... Did feel a bit sorry for Roger but then hated him in equal measures!"

Dave Smith, corporate funder: "Like a fly on the wall documentary."

Michael Fort, entrepreneur: "It was the talk of the Cote D'Azur".

Greg Broadhurst: "Laughed a lot, loved it."

Aidan O'Rourke, photographer: "Phew, if you want loveable good-hearted characters; a gentle storyline don't read this book!"

Gaynor Black: "Loved it."

Phil Morgan. "Interesting."

LawyerFair Podcast #30: interview about @40by40book

Summer reading special - are the characters in 40 by 40 real?

Roger Cashmore, the central character in 40 by 40, is obviously fictional. But there are truths in his persona. People tell me they know who it is based on. And they are right. Even if it's a different person every time.

One of the key lines in one of my favourite films is: "The greatest trick the devil ever pulled, was convincing the world he didn't exist."

Some of the other characters are also "inspired" by people I've come across, there's also an "easter egg" in the naming of all the minor characters. There's a lunch at San Carlo, or a coffee in Costa in Alderley, for the first person who can spot it.

I was asked another great question for a piece in The Big Issue in the North. Why include real people and situations?The answer is in the interview below.

And if you'd like to order the book, pop into your local bookshop - including Waterstones, or order from Amazon. We have a few events lined up - hopefully one at Waterstones in Wilmslow and another in Alderley Edge.

Where did the idea for the book come from?

I’ve always wanted to write fiction, but on the basis you should write about what you know, the subject matter jumped out at me. I had a ringside seat for the biggest story of my journalistic life. I loved Kill Your Friends by John Niven, which is about the music industry in 1997, it tells so many truths, as you’d expect from a former A&R man, despite being a work of fiction. Truly, 2008 felt like it was the last days of Rome, fortunes were lost, reputations trashed, people died. I also wanted to weave together some extra jeopardy by putting the twin worlds of hooligan gangsterism and serious business together.

What’s the key to creating a monstrous character who will still engage readers?

Two things, making him darkly funny and letting the reader know that he’s not as clever as he thinks he is. Flag up a few obvious clues that he’s heading for a fall. If you think about, that’s what made Wolf of Wall Street watchable. With my central character,  Roger Cashmore, he’s got his money in an Icelandic Bank on the Isle of Man, it’s 2008, you know that isn’t going to end well.

Why did you decide to include real people in among the fictional characters?

As it’s set in a real time and place, Manchester and Cheshire in 2008, where real events happened and I was a witness to them, it seemed mad not to. It roots it in reality and makes it all the more plausible. Why invent a moment when everyone was warned about the looming global financial crisis when one actually happened. A conference in May 2008 at the Yang Sing restaurant,  where Jon Moulton predicted it all, I was there, I took copious notes, I have his slides, I have the guest list, all the other people in book who were there - football managers, property developers, big hitters - all add colour. You literally could not make it up.

There’s insider detail on everything from corporate espionage to complex financial instruments. How did you go about your research?

Talking to people, lots and lots of people. It’s my job to understand corporate finance and understand the way that world works. The money laundering and the espionage stuff came from a detailed briefing from a real spy. I also interviewed Eliza Manningham-Buller, the former head of MI5, but she didn’t tell me any secrets as such.

Was it easy to find your fictional voice after a career in journalism?

I did write a spoof column for a few years where the voice was honed. In many ways it was easier to tell this story through that prism, as I could take liberties. I do really admire long form journalism and the sketch portraits of a crisis that Michael Lewis does so well in the Boomerang: The Meltdown Tour. I could have done something similar but there are fewer outlets for that.

Are women really as sidelined in North West business as they are in the business world portrayed in the book?

Less so now, happily. But just look at the Rich Lists and the Power 100 – overwhelmingly male, pale and stale. But although the book is centred on Roger Cashmore as a sexist arse in a world of “good lads” it is also a book about redemption and lessons learned. It has to be, doesn’t it?

Will Roger Cashmore be the progatonist of another book?

Absolutely. I’d like to fast forward to 2015 in a slightly different world, where a bruised and confused Roger is up for something new and stands for election in an unwinnable seat, for the Tories. I’ll call it; “We’re all in it together”.

Do buy the Big Issue in the North off one of the vendors when you're out and about. It's a great social enterprise originally set up by my friend Ruth Turner and now edited by my former super sub Kevin Gopal.

Penistone Literary Festival and a few questions about the book

There's something really exhilarating about book festivals and author events - I go to a fair few myself, so it was great today to be at the front doing a reading from my book, 40 by 40, and taking questions in my slot at the Penistone Literary Festival.

I'm going to be speaking at an event called Darkness and Decadence with Lynn Gerrard on the 24th of July at the Nexus Cafe as part of the Manchester Fringe Festival.

I've also done an interview with local author Paul Beatty.

1. Please tell us something about yourself. 

As it says on my Twitter: Marple dwelling father to 5, writer, business thinker, debate curator. Catholic. Stood for Labour in 2015. Arte et Labore. A lover not a fighter. 

2. Your new book 40 by 40 is your debut novel. What’s it about?

Redemption and feminism. Actually, it’s a bawdy comic thriller about a vile sexist business bad boy set in Alderley Edge and Manchester in 2008, the year it all came on top. "A riotous skewering of the worst excesses of laddish business culture, with full due diligence done" according to The Big Issue in the North.

3. Where did your inspiration and motivation come from to write 40 by 40?

I had a ringside seat for our era defining year as a business journalist. Everything in the book is sort of true, even the bits that aren’t real.

4. How did you get away with adding real actual people into the story, like Sam Allardyce, Jon Moulton, Tom Bloxham and Rio Ferdinand?

They’re the backdrop, the background noise to the events of the year. I got some permissions, some I took out on legal advice. As long as you don’t degrade their persona, what harm could it do?

5. Is the central character actually based on a real person?

At least half a dozen high profile Cheshire dwelling entrepreneurs seem to think it’s them. So obviously, no.

6. What books do you read for pleasure and why?

Crime noir (Raymond Chandler, James Crumley and JJ Connolly), great American novels (Cormac McCarthy), long form journalism (Michael Lewis), I’ve read everything by Christopher Hitchens and George Orwell. Helps me see the world as it is.

7. What book would you like to consign to room 101 and why?

1984, for inspiring crap TV formats.

8. What is your writing process?

Fits and starts, then a final flourish.

9. What will be your next writing project?

The follow up is already in play – We’re All in it Together, where our guy stands in the General Election in a challenging seat, for the Tories.

10. What tips would you give to someone writing their first novel?

Write about what you know.

Interviewing Roger Cashmore

Launched the book tonight. I've been to plenty of launches where not much happens. Also been to a few signings and public events where the author does an intervew and a reading. So far, so good.

Tonight I actually interviewed the lead character of my own novel. Seriously. My friend Graeme Hawley, a proper professional actor, performed the role of greedy, grotesque Real Businessman of Cheshire Roger Cashmore so well, it was actually quite unnerving. It reminded me why and how I wrote the book. The experiences of horror at the hands of egotistical pyschopaths. "Great Lads" who think they are funny and clever who are used to getting their own way and force feeding their opinions on supine acolytes. Yes, them. Graeme was Roger tonight. 

We effectively played it as a straight interview - scripted to a degree but with some really good ad libbing from Graeme who "got" the look, the tone and manner perfectly.

He was even accompanied by his security minder Alan Townley, played with great accuracy by, er, Alan Townley and his long suffering PR played by Lisa Ashurst, who is a PR.

I'd like to do this again, get some people from Graeme's world in, agents, producers and script people who could see what a brilliant performer Graeme is and how this would make great TV or theatre.

It's not for me to say if the book's any good or not, but I'm pleased that people seem to be enjoying it and it's selling well. After the first bit, we swapped roles and Graeme moderated a Q&A about the book and I loved reliving the experience of writing it - what the characters and plot devices related to. The role of journalism now, the difficulties of building empathy for a horrible character, the three act structure, how the book is ultimately about redemption and forgiveness. 

Everything has to be doesn't it?