Sabina Park Rangers is the first team of black players to reach the final of the Watney’s Challenge Cup. But coach Horace McIntosh has more selection problems than most.
The First Division champions want to sign one of his best players – and right up until the day of the match he is uncertain that he will have a team for the biggest game in the club’s history because of arrests, a scam and an atmosphere of impending violence.
MY INTERVIEW WITH THE AUTHOR
- When did you know that you wanted to be an author?
In my mid 20’s before cell phones were around, a good friend of mine, Don, living in Ireland, would keep in touch by mail. Humour was the common theme of our written exchanges – a tally of actual events that I knew Don would find entertaining. What I didn’t anticipate was that Don would read these tales I wrote to his dinner guests who found them quite entertaining. Eventually Don suggested we put our writing talents into a book. Interestingly, we have never attempted a solely humorous work!
- What inspired you to write this book?
As a teenager I belonged to a karate club that took on the name of the organization where we practiced – Wolverhampton YMCA. The same vicinity served as a club house for an all-black football team, to which several members of the karate team also belonged.
Many of their experiences were casually shared between members of the club, this painting a tapestry of characters and events both uplifting and heart wrenching. It is from these stories that the inspiration for the book evolved.
- If you could sell this book in one sentence what would it be?
A snapshot of black inner-city youths in the 80s revolving around the love of football, sometimes humorous, sometimes tragic, but all the time entertaining
- What are you up to next?
The release of the next book – Love, Lies and Bleeding. This is a crime thriller that starts off in Canada and migrates to England as a black female private investigator is on the heels of a human trafficking gang. I’m giving serious thought to turning this book into a trilogy.
- Who is your biggest inspiration?
My biggest inspiration is an innate creative desire that I’ve needed to channel for many years.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ralph Robb was born and raised in the industrial town of Wolverhampton, England, and now lives in Ontario, Canada with his wife, two cats and a dog. A proud father of four, Robb works as an engineering technician and loves rugby, martial arts and of course a good book. His world is balanced by his obsession with comic books, quality TV, global events and the great outdoors.
Social Media Links :
Facebook: www.facebook.com/RalphRobbBooks
Twitter: @RalphSRobb
Webpage: www.ralphrobb.com
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