Author hopes barber’s tale is cut above
STUART PIKE
THE story of a barber who grabs a second chance at life is the subject of the fifth book by an author and former newspaper man.
Former Accrington Observer deputy editor Stuart Robertson, 44, has just released How to Save a Life, his latest novel with publisher HarperCollins.
Available in paperback, ebook and audiobook formats, it tells the tale of a bad-tempered barber who tries to turn over a new leaf after a stranger saves his life.
Set largely in Manchester’s Northern Quarter, it’s a story of redemption and reinvention, which Stuart hopes will give readers a much-needed boost in the difficult current climate.
It follows on from the success of Stuart’s previous four novels, the last of which, My Sister’s Lies, was a 2019 USA Today bestseller.
Stuart, who writes under the name S.D. Robertson and lives in Rossendale, said: “When I wrote this book, I obviously had no idea that it would be released amid a global pandemic, which has changed so much about our everyday lives.
“I’m just so glad the book has such an upbeat message. It’s all about choosing to be positive rather than negative in life. Early readers have really embraced the glasshalf-full outlook it promotes, which is wonderful.
“I hope it leaves people feeling that there’s light at the end of even the darkest tunnel.”
Stuart, whose journalistic career included editing the Rossendale Free Press for four years, has seen his work printed in various foreign languages around the world, including Japanese, Swedish, German,
Portuguese and also Chinese.
His debut novel, Time to Say Goodbye, was released in 2016 and spent several weeks in Amazon UK’s Kindle Top 20.
He is currently working on his sixth novel, due to be published in 2021.