Ex-publican pens first novel aged 79
Thriller follows three volumes of memoirs
They say everyone has at least one novel in them, and Pat Donoghue has just proved the saying is true for him.
Mr Donoghue, writing under the pen name Pat Coppard, has just published his first novel – at the age of 79.
Drawing on his own experiences growing up in London’s East End in the 1960s and 1970s, Mr Donoghue weaves a story around army veteran Paraic Collins, who is gradually enmeshed in a world of crime.
Mr Donoghue, a former publican at the Good Intent in West Farleigh, writes in long-hand and his wife, Diane, types his words up on the computer.
He said: “I have written three books before, but they were of quite a different nature.
“Even though I came from a very large Bermondsey family, there came a time when I found I was the only one of my generation still alive.
“My children then said I should write down my memoirs so that the family history wasn’t lost when I passed on.”
Mr Donoghue, of Rede Court Road, Barming, said: “I have a good memory and I actually found the process of writing quite easy.
“Before I knew it, my memoirs had taken up three volumes.”
Then his daughter, Claire, urged him to try his hand at writing a novel.
He said: “My memoirs were really not done with any commercial intent, they were for my family, but hopefully people will buy the novel.”
A Gangland Killer by Pat Coppard is available on Amazon.