Timperley dad publishes his first novel

A Timperley dad has had his first-ever novel published.

Steve Worthington, aged 63 who lives in the village with his wife Jane and two daughters, will see his post-war crime thriller ‘The Falling Rain’ available online from 26 November.

A lifelong City supporter, Steve published his autobiography in 2010, which details his childhood growing up on a Wythenshawe Council Estate in the 1960s and 1970s, while following the trials and tribulations of Manchester City. But ‘The Falling Rain’ is his first novel.

He describes the new book as a noirish post-war crime thriller set in 1957, where a journalist takes an epic journey through some of the darkest days of post-World War Two South Manchester.

Steve said: “I was in my 40s when both of my daughters were born, and so I wrote my autobiography so my girls would have an account of what their dad’s life was all about should the worst occur while they were very young.

“That book – ‘Once in a Blue Moon – Life, Love and Manchester City’ – eventually became a bestseller of sorts, outselling any other publication from The History Press for two consecutive years.

“I hadn’t planned on writing anything further; however, having been made redundant after 31 years in local government, I started studying for a master’s degree in Scriptwriting for Television and Radio at Salford University, and ‘The Falling Rain’ was the final project for my Master’s.

“The post-war 1950s period in Britain is largely untouched in contemporary English literature and proved an interesting period to research. Throwing a former Nazi soldier into a working-class Wythenshawe housing estate certainly gave my imagination room to run riot. The outcome is a complex and gritty crime thriller that I’m certain readers of all ages and genres will enjoy.”

‘The Falling Rain’ is available online via publishers Blossom Spring and on Amazon from 26 November.