Jon Cobb

Modern Man: Life’s Like That is a comedy about the pressures and expectations on men as they try to find their way in the world. The main character is called Modern Man because he is a kind of generic interpretation of the ‘Average Joe,’ neither especially gifted nor a total moron.

Everybody faces challenges and Modern Man has his fair share. The humour comes from how he deals with them. The reader will probably identify personally with some of his reactions and recognise the actions of friends in others.

I have used my own experiences as a backdrop to the plot and included some events that actually happened but this is not an autobiography.

This is my first novel, although I have been writing short stories for about 20 years. The nudge to work on a bigger project came from a friend’s reaction to one of my earlier compositions. Karen had been diagnosed with breast cancer and I felt she might need a laugh.

It was a combination of her encouragement, the right environment and enough creative inspiration that powered me through. It took almost two years to write but I wasn’t in a hurry. My writing time is Saturday and Sunday mornings when everybody else in the house is still asleep, the coffee is fresh and hot and the sounds of the countryside occasionally break through my subconscious firewall.