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I'm a massive fan of darts it has to be said. Whenever there's a game on the TV, I'm tuned in and glued. With the pro's up on stage demonstrating a skill and accuracy beyond what the game was like a decade ago, it's a stunning display of a sport. Above that though it's the people and the diversity of the fans and players alike. The likes of which you wouldn't see in many other sports, the mix of people generate an atmosphere that's in a different league from anything else.
Evolution of the front cover
As yet, 'Sets, Legs & Stolen Dough' hasn't been agreed for publication and so there are no cover designs to share at this stage. As soon as work progresses, I will be updating this page to show how the cover evolves through the process.
We all see what happens on stage, but what happens off of it? Sometimes the story is not that straightforward.
Dean Hodge AKA “The Sandman”, is a talented darts player moving up the PDC ranks. Walking on to Metallica's “Enter Sandman” he has the trophy girlfriend and a unique skill for the game.
Convicted of theft and dealing in stolen goods in his early twenties, his probation officer placed him as an apprentice with a plasterer. His boss introduced him to the game as an after work wind down. Quickly discovering an aptitude for the game, friends persuaded him to enter regional playoffs to see if he was good enough to get into some major events.
Dean soon became a regular face on the PDC circuit putting in some good performances against some of the game's top players. It was a lucrative start to a promising career with money coming in from televised performances and sponsorship deals.
Enjoying the lifestyle the game afforded, money started going out quicker than it was coming in. Now betting on his own performances through some unscrupulous bookies to make up the shortfall and using a loan shark for a quick fix, his debts spiral beyond control.
A chance meeting with a darting legend offers some hope as he is forced to play in an underground darts match to earn his way back out of the debt he owes. A plan is forged to secure his future as his life is threatened but things go badly wrong when Dean's pride takes over.
A dead body, stolen cash and a bookie on the war path lead Dean and his best mate Liam into taking some drastic action. Things go from bad to worse when things don't go quite according to plan and realizes that he's just been used as a pawn in a much bigger game.
Anyone can pick up a dart and throw it at a board and it's one of those fun games that has been the corner stone of many a public house for many a year. I've been known on occasion to pick up the arras and shoot a few games in pubs after a few beers, but being absolute rubbish at maths and not particularly accurate I'm not exactly a competitive opponent! But that's what I love about it, you have the excellence of the pro's, the diversity of the people and the ability for anyone to have a go. What more could you ask of a sport?
Watching a match some time ago, a thought struck me. In the PDC, Phil "The Power" Taylor has won so many tournaments and championships that if he was in any other sport, he'd probably be knighted by now such is his success but in relative terms, he doesn't get that much press attention. That's the way it goes with the sport of darts I guess, but it did get me thinking of some of the less well known players that haven't been as successful as "The Power".
What lead them to where they are now? How do they keep themselves going when their prize money from playing isn't that much? What else do they do aside from playing darts? How do they juggle their time between work, practice and tournaments? I had lots of these types of questions on my mind and started jotting down some scenarios. Cock it & Pull it was still fresh in my mind and it wasn't long before a criminal connotation behind a darts player started flirting with me and I began to note a story idea about a darts player.
Having the interest in the game of darts and knowing a lot about the game it seemed natural to me to write a novel based around it but focussed on the journey of a player rather than concentrated in the game or any specific tournament.
Quickly momentum in the story grew and I had the characters and plot worked out. It was immense fun writing this book as there's a lot of humour and a lot of tension. Although focussed on one primary character, the story evolves around several characters in equal amounts giving a lot of substance to the plot and great grounds for superb twist.
I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of writing this one from start to finish. I really wanted this one to go on longer as being immersed with the characters and story line it was almost as if it was real and actually happening. I looked forward to each chapter and loved being in the middle of all of the action. Stories like this almost write themselves and it is such a pleasure!
I really hope that you enjoy reading this as much as I did writing it! I'm so looking forward to this one coming out!
Synopsis
More about Sets, Legs & Stolen Dough
