‘Extremely England‘ is a delightfully funny, lighthearted story that pokes fun at the establishment and the state this once great nation is now in. If England was as bad as they say in the newspapers, then perhaps Extremely England would be how many of us could describe my country of birth.

The people in power, whether politicians, police or high-powered lawyers aren’t playing the game as straight as they should be, and this leaves the rest of us searching for others to idolise. Sadly, more and more, that leads the public to look up to and aspire to be pop stars and reality TV personalities. Quite sad, no?

This story is for those of us who read the tabloids, and choose to laugh, not cry.

What genre is it?
Humour/Satire.

What kind of readers will it appeal to?
If you are someone who has the ability to laugh at life, you will laugh along with this story. But even if you’re one of those people who stresses out too easily at things beyond your  control, having a giggle at the characters and situations in Extremely England will provide you a little escapism, even if it’s only temporary!

What if we’re not English?
This isn’t just for the English to read and enjoy, or even just the British. Problems that  England faces, such as the perceived corruption within the establishment, is a global problem. And all around the world, at a time of economic crisis, everybody is looking for someone to blame. Most of us are also having to look out for our own interests, sometimes at the cost of others.

Tell us a bit more about this book. Who is the main character?
The main character is Bobby Saint, an honourable man who is also highly regarded as Britain’s best copper. Bobby is in line for the well-deserved job promotion to the role of
Police Commissioner, but things don’t pan out as they should. We follow Bobby as he tries to put things right, and discovers some naughty secrets on the way…

We can’t wait to find out what they are. Complete this sentence for us: if you like ________________, then you’ll love Extremely England.

If you like to laugh and aren’t too easily offended, then you’ll love this book. If you don’t like to laugh, and you are easily offended, well… unlucky!

What’s the response to the book been so far?
Initial responses I’ve had are that the book is ‘laugh out loud funny’, so anything short of  that means I’ll have to punish a couple of editors for bad guidance…

The last time we talked was about Son of a Serial Killer. This book sounds very different.
Well, it is different for sure… SoaSK is a dark tale, full of negative emotion and thoughts of hopelessness (similar to the struggles faced by the protagonist in my first novel, Get Clean). I’m not a doctor by any means, but I know that getting into the right mindset to write these dark stories all the time can’t be healthy!

I’m often quite a happy guy! And I have a bit of a twisted sense of humour, so writing a comedy wasn’t alien to me at all. Humour is a great way to deal with some of the curveballs that life throws at you now and again, and that’s the frame of mind I used when writing this book.

For anyone who hasn’t yet read our previous interview with you, can you tell us a bit about yourself?
I’m a single father of one living in France and following my dream. I love writing  (sometimes, other times it’s a ball-ache), and I love being a dad (again, sometimes, other  times I feel like more of a cook/cleaner).

I’m moving forward with life, learning as I go and smiling whenever I get the chance. It’s all good.

Do you have a website where we can keep up with your work?
http://jamsnroses.wordpress.com/

How can we follow you on Twitter and/or Facebook?
@jamsnroses.

What’s next?
I’m already around halfway into my next project, ‘Finding Her Feet’, which isn’t in the happy and humorous style of Extremely England! I’m venturing back to the dark side with this one – It’s a sad tale of a young girl/woman, who had a hard start to life, and things don’t get that much easier as she grows up. It’s a sad story, but one I’ve had in mind for a while now, so I decided to take the plunge and get it written down.