Paths Not Yet Taken by Philip Rennett published April 2024 and is described as ‘a dramatic, wry, feel-good satirical novel that offers hope to us all… eventually.’ It is the first in a series of novels from Philip Rennett, who has had quite an exciting career, and it won the Literary Titan Gold Book Award for Fiction in May 2024. Philip has written a charming piece that you can read below explaining his journey to publication so I do hope you enjoy.
Guest post
Set over five days of late summer, Paths Not Yet Taken is 340 intriguing, thought-provoking pages of crises, action and emotion, frequently punctuated by wry humour and the occasional laugh. It’s a funny, breezy contemporary satire that examines how powerless those in power actually are. Like all good satirical novels, it’s a fiction that’s a conceivable stone’s throw from reality.
And it nearly didn’t get written.
Covid caused many things including – way down the list – yours truly deciding to write a novel.
You’ve spent your entire career writing for other people, I told myself. Now’s the time to write for yourself. The question was, what?
It was during the first lockdown and my fourth weekly tidy up of the garage (anything to get out of the house). I opened the side door, stepped into the already immaculate space and thought: What if I’d opened the door and somebody was already in here?
A few moments into sweeping the pristine floor: What if it was the prime minister? Then, two minutes later: What if it was the prime minister having a nervous breakdown?
I walked back into the house, grabbed my laptop, and started writing.
A couple of years, two or three vaccinations and just 18,000 words later, I gave up. There was no point. Real life superseded anything I had imagined and downloaded onto the electronic page. My draft may well have been sharp (okay, not blunt) and reasonably humorous, but every plot development was being outdone by the top-down madness enveloping society and suffocating humanity.
I didn’t want to write a novel that was essentially a diluted account of the reality of the time, with little sense or promise of a positive outcome. I played golf, read books or walked the dogs instead. I gave myself some breathing space, and that in turn gave me hope.
Generally speaking, politicians don’t set off with a dream of destroying the economy, tearing the fabric of the nation or jeopardising lives and futures (unless they’re sleeper agents or being bribed/blackmailed by a foreign power – but that’s for another book).
At all levels of society, life gets in the way of what we hope to do and where we plan to be. Circumstances can be way beyond our control. Seemingly innocuous decisions we make can result in big unforeseen consequences (good and bad). Some people may well be content with the hand dealt to them. Others less so.
Whatever the case, we each have a choice – to accept our norm or to change it; to stay on the current path or to choose another. That became the focus of the novel. I fired up the laptop once more. The plot changed dramatically; the characters not so much – although more were introduced.
The result, I hope, is something dramatic, funny in places and ultimately uplifting. If you like fast-paced drama, dogs or drink, this book definitely has plenty for you. If not, there’s always the ongoing chaos, the political shenanigans and the relationship intrigues to grab your interest.
Ultimately, one spur-of-the-moment decision is the catalyst for others – including the reader – to reflect on their own lives and to consider decisive actions of their own.
Should you read it, I sincerely hope you enjoy the journey. Whichever path you choose, I wish you well!
Paths Not Yet Taken is out now in ebook and paperback formats and you can buy a copy here.
Bio
Philip Rennett lives in Buckinghamshire with his wife Clare, one dog and a cat. Work started in the Middle East where experiences included crash-landing in a plane whose pilots forgot to lower the undercarriage; flying in another plane with a dead body knocking against his leg; and spending a couple of uncomfortable minutes sitting in his Volkswagen Beetle while three very angry soldiers pointed guns at his head.
Opting for a quieter life, he returned to the UK and founded a successful public relations consultancy, which he ran for thirty years. Deciding he’d had enough of writing for others, he retired and now writes for himself.
Web: www.philrennett.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PhilipRennettAuthor
Twitter(X): @PhilRennet
