Off Balance

Roy Chadwick has been a writer and analyst of aspects of society for most of his working life. He has edited internal marketing publications and written newsletters. He ran a multiracial youth club in Paddington and a community centre on a Labour housing estate in a Conservative constituency. He has travelled extensively in the U.S., Caribbean, North Africa, and Asia. He has volunteered for the CAB and worked on behalf of asylum seekers and other disadvantaged people in Salford. He tried to keep vocal jazz alive as a promoter. He co-authored a children’s book on the history of tunnels. He holds a sociology B.Sc. from LSE. In the 1970s and 1980s, he was involved in the creation and consolidation of the financial services sector, a scenario that helped him understand the process of energy and utility privatization. In 2006, he sold his house in Salford to bring his dream of owning a restaurant specialising in vocal jazz to reality. He chose Blackpool, a town buzzing with the prospect of renewal through a super casino. But his dream died before the business could open after Blackpool lost its bid for super casinos. Property values collapsed and Roy was bankrupted. This is his first novel. It draws on his understanding of the dangers of the private provision of public services, and his research into the history of Las Vegas to present a frightening picture of what might have happened behind the scenes when Blackpool bid for its super casino.