Netherhall Gardens

Carl Patrick

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Why I wrote this book

Telling stories and writing fiction is something I’ve always done, ever since I was at school. After university, I moved to London from Oxford and spent 18 exciting months living in a large shared house with a curious mix of unusual people in Netherhall Gardens, Hampstead. This book is loosely based on my experiences and a rather vivid imagination. It’s a story that I felt compelled to write, allowing me to live it again vicariously but also in the way I imagined it could have been, given a better complexion, a more tolerant view on drugs, and an uninhibited attitude to sex.

Netherhall Gardens is a slightly comical, slightly hysterical, slightly sinister look at relationships, blooming sexuality and the problems our hormones can reek when left unchecked. Add to this pot, illegal drugs, copious amounts of alcohol, prostitution, serial murder, deception, wild sex and outrageous dinner parties and you have a story that is altogether charming and alarming and likely to leave you squirming for more.

Although essentially a contemporary gay novel, like the wonderful ‘Tales of the City’ by Armistead Maupin this is a modern story with a strong feel-good vibe set in our multi-faceted and multi-sexual society and should appeal to anyone who enjoys an uplifting yet grounded account of living life to the full. The characters are sexy, witty, mad, demanding, obsessive and mostly self-centred, but they all have one thing in common; they are all highly sexed. It is, of course, sexually explicit (in parts) with scenes both heterosexual and homosexual in nature and is considered by those who have read it to be highly erotic, somewhat educational and occasionally shocking. Wait till they read the second book!

Synopsis

First visit to Netherhall Gardens? Let me introduce you to some of the neighbours. Meet handsome trainee accountant Mark… who’s friends with beautiful petite Stella… whose sister Iris can’t abide Stella's lawyer boyfriend Hugh… who doesn’t at all like the sound of Mark… who discovers his sexuality with leather-loving policeman Steve... whose ex-boyfriend Glen is a security guard with a closely guarded secret that, once unleashed, unravels a very tangled web among the marijuana-fuelled denizens of leafy Hampstead.

And meet New Yorker Laura who teaches playboy Patrick to play the flute and runs an illegal escort agency on the side… which sends pot-head Pierre to meet the kinky German couple who have a deadly compulsion that has near fatal consequences for Mark.

Oh and not forgetting the indomitable Morag, Stella and Iris's mother, who descends on them all with a lottery win… though just how much is a mystery.

And you really must meet Fanny Rosenberg, Laura's tiresome neighbour, who doesn’t at all approve of all the funny goings on.

Finally, feel the panic as London’s gay community is gripped by a series of bizarre sexual murders.

Come on in, you know you’ll love them… they’re right up your street… in more ways than one!

About the Author

Carl Patrick was born in Oxford. He has been writing fiction since he was at school and wrote his first novel at the age of 15 about the rape of a fellow pupil. Whilst at University, he began to write a Science Fiction trilogy, which is yet to be finished. He then moved to London and trained as a Chartered Accountant. He continued writing and has written a number of erotic short stories with Netherhall Gardens being his first contemporary gay novel.

Carl now lives with his partner of 14 years near Brighton. They both enjoy wild sex, cooking and entertaining friends. He admits however that, apart from sex, the best fun he has is writing, which he is forced to do in his spare time after running his own small business, going to the gym, reading, listening to music and travelling to his favourite destinations (so far) such as San Francisco, Provincetown, Amsterdam and anywhere in Spain.

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