Ipswich dad James Jenkins is living the dream after his first novel has been published, IpswichStar reports.
He was undeterred by his 20-plus rejections over the last 11 months before Parochial Pigs was signed to Alien Buddha Press, an American indie publisher, according to the report.
The Castle Hill plumber and father-of-two, who has always written as a hobby, was stunned when he finally received a letter of acceptance for his first work.
Mr Jenkins said getting the work published had been a “labour of love”.
He added: “I won’t be giving up my day job any time soon.
“It still seems like impostor syndrome and a dream come true.”
In his first novel, Mr Jenkins tells the story of Paul Hargreaves, a detective who wins favour with the Bristol crime lord Bobby Cavendish, climbing his way up the ladder of the illicit empire.
Mr Jenkins said: “Parochial Pigs is a gritty gangland noir crime novel with dark humour and a ritualistic undertone.”
Outside of writing, the father-of-two is a musician, who has been involved in raising money for local charities.
