Burger Bar Dad

Paul Castle loves his son Jack and hates being a Burger Bar Dad. Seeing his son only on Wednesdays and Saturdays pulls him apart. His ex-wife is a thrusting ambitious banker and he is a middling, not very ambitious Birmingham journalist with hopes of being a playwright. The divorce gave her the house, and he got the guilt. He’s just about keeping it together, but after a disastrous parents evening, Paul discovers that Jack's mother is planning to move to London and put Jack in a private boarding school. Paul must quickly sort his priorities and his life as he embarks on a hilarious campaign to frustrate his ex-wife’s plan. However, his life is just about to get even more complicated, when he meets Gillian and begins to remember the joys of being in love. All too soon, he is confronted with the reality that in order to maintain even his inadequate Burger Bar relationship with Jack, he will have to move down South. As he falls quickly in love with Gillian, he is then offered the chance to be a playwright in Birmingham. How can he choose between being with Gillian or being with Jack?

Ian Butler of Birmingham, UK

Ian Butler began writing creatively in 2009 and is currently living in County Fermanagh. He has over twenty years experience in social work, including working with high risk adolescents. Previous to this he travelled extensively across Europe and The Americas. Ian’s first novel Burger Bar Dad was published as an ebook in 2012 and will be published in hard copy in early 2013. He is currently developing other novels and is interested in both fiction and non-fiction, and is also developing short stories, plays and screenplays as well as other freelance work. He was shortlisted for the NI Screen Primetime screenwriting award in 2011. Currently a member of the Fermanagh Creative Writing Group, Ian has been instrumental in helping it reach a prominent position in the cultural life of the County. Ian likes to travel and is interested in all aspects of development and environmental issues and is active on these issues.