Journalist Adam's foray into fiction

Adam Wolstenholme, who was a reporter and news editor on the Dewsbury Reporter, Batley and Birstall News and Spenborough Guardian, explores the concept of modern manhood and gender politics in his ‘provocative’ new comic thriller Talking Wounded.

The 40-year-old has signed with Leeds-based web publisher Dandylion to release his tale about self-confessed failure Max Childs, a divorced former house husband and part-time dad who attends weekly therapy sessions called the Divorced Men’s Club.

Max’s luck changes when he meets an old flame, Charlotte - who unfortunately for him, is already dating an intimidatingly macho army sniper who carries a gun in his car boot.

Max knows he should stay clear - but he hasn’t got the best track record of doing the sensible thing. Themes include the mistakes people make in past relationships, the risk of being trapped in the same self-destructive cycles and society’s expectations of ‘real’ men in the modern world.

“As a divorced father of two, I’m interested in what’s expected of men today, to what extent feminism has changed things for both men and women, and how we learn from our mistakes – or not,” said Adam, and award-winning journalist and columnist whose work has appeared in The Times and The Big Issue in the North.

After leaving newspapers Adam retrained as an English teacher and now works in a secondary school.

He has also published his short stories in the anthology Eating My Words and on fiction websites 1,000 Words, Brilliant Flash Fiction and Flash Frontier.

Adam is inspired by writers including Kingsley Amis, Richard Yates, Nick Hornby and Pat Barker, and his writing deals with love, marriage, gender, war and humour.

The keen musician is also a guitarist in local rock bands.