JOURNALIST and broadcaster, Frank Gilfeather, is celebrating the success of his book on the life of former Inverness Caledonian Thistle and Aberdeen football manager, Steve Paterson, now through his battle with the twin addictions of gambling and alcohol.
Aberdeen-based Gilfeather, who covers football for The Times, The Herald and the Sunday Herald and reports for the Sky Sports programme, Gillette Soccer Saturday, told allmediascotland he was delighted that the book had all but sold out its print run.
“On top of that,” he added, “the Daily Record took a splash and two spreads I’d written when Steve revealed to me back in October 2008 that he was about to check-in to the famous Sporting Chance Clinic in Hampshire, founded by the ex-Arsenal and England captain, Tony Adams.
“I suggested we do a book when he was discharged four weeks later and so Confessions of a Highland Hero was born.
“The publisher, Birlinn, are extremely pleased with the outcome, especially as the book entered the Scottish best-sellers chart in the lead-up to Christmas. The Daily Record bought the adaptation rights and I know they, too, were happy with it.”
Gilfeather, a former Grampian TV sports correspondent, produces and presents a weekly current affairs discussion/phone-in show on Northsound Radio and writes a comment column for the Aberdeen Evening Express.
“It’s been a very busy time,” he said, “but I would be keen to take on another ghost-writing project, as long as it captvates me the way Steve Paterson’s harrowing story did. I’m also in the middle of writing a novel, though I am still seeking a publisher for that.”
