Our Author's Journey to a Film, an Exhibition and an Award: The Power of Self-Publishing

Sugar, Gravy, Pleasure: An Indie Odyssey in Peterborough (Troubador 2024) is a biographical account of The Sugar Club, an alternative music club night that ran in the city in the 90s and early 2000s. Against the backdrop of grunge (like Nirvana) and Britpop (like Oasis) music styles, Sugar, Gravy, Pleasure offers a light-hearted look at the ups and downs of being an indie rock band and setting up a nightclub. It’s a book about the people, music, and the fun that was had along the way. Unlike most nightclub and rock memoirs there’s not tales of debauchery, but rather is filled with humour and anecdotes to give readers and insight into what it was like at the time.

“The book is a tribute to working-class culture, alternative music and the magic moments when like-minded people find their tribe. It's a reminder that sometimes the best nights of our lives happen not in the big cities, but in the places where we have to make our own entertainment.” (Sugar, Gravy, Pleasure). 

Since his publication in July 2024, Pete has seen significant local and global success, including international interviews, local exhibitions, becoming an award-winner and having his book become a documentary-film. But how did this journey begin? 

Reclaiming the Narrative 

In 2019, Pete was reading about his home city, Peterborough in England, and was shocked to read that it had topped the polls as the “worst place to live in England”. 

“I thought it was pretty harsh,” he says. “I remember thinking I’ll keep an eye on the story and see where it is in the newspaper poll in the next year.” 

Unfortunately, in 2020, the city was voted not the “worst place to live in England” but the “worst place to live in the whole of the UK” - so despite it adding three extra countries, it still topped the poll. 

Pete had moved to Auckland, New Zealand, in 2002, but he didn’t buy into the negative story being painted about Peterborough. “I knew there were many success stories and many great people who lived in the city. So, I decided to start writing my own story, just to balance out what I was reading in the tabloids.” He wanted to capture the fun times and set the record straight. The nightclub felt like a fun, unique time, so the subject for the book was easy. 

He says he didn’t have many expectations for the story, other than to get it out there, and hoping that it would be interesting enough to get people’s attention. “When I was in a band, you simply sent the records to the weekly music papers and they wrote a review of it. I hadn’t reckoned on how hard it would be to actually get noticed”. 

“I would advise anyone to have a think about what happens after the launch, say 6 months or a year down the road. How will you get your particular market of readers to know that your book is out there?” 

The Path to Self-Publishing 

Knowing nothing about the publishing, Pete had to do a lot of research to figure out ‘how’ to release a book. He looked at the options to do it totally by yourself, with a traditional publisher or via the self-publishing route, with the support of a full-service publisher. “I knew it would be a disaster if I did it myself, and plus there would be no-one to blame if it went wrong!” 

Traditional publishing requires you first to get an agent, and then your manuscript will be sold to publishers who then release it for you. However, this isn’t as easy as it might sound: competition is fierce, and traditional publishers have specific publishing lists. Very often, if you don’t fit into the criteria they’re looking for, no matter how good the book, you’ll struggle to get published. 

So it was a process of deduction that led Pete to a full-service self-publisher. His research brought him to Troubador. 

“The best aspect is the freedom and the control it brings to whatever you decide to write, the choice of book cover, and so on.” 

“I have found everyone at Troubador to be friendly and professional throughout the process and also answering my many questions. Troubadour could also do other things that I needed, like setting up the website and getting my audiobook into the online stores. They made it a fun, exciting process and it is truly an amazing feeling to finally get hold of your own finished book."

Sugar, Gravy, Pleasure: An Indie Odyssey in Peterborough

Making His Mark: Local Exhibitions and Winning the 2025 Peterborough Civic Award

Following publication, there has been a great response from Peterborough, with the local media being incredibly interested. For the book, there was also a great take up with regional TV, newspapers and radio who were all very supportive and were running interviews. As Pete lives overseas his physical involvement has been limited to one book reading gig, which was incredibly well attended, but he has mostly been promoting it from afar. 

Part of the curiosity has been facilitated by the book title itself; there aren’t that many books with Peterborough in the title, says Pete, so naturally it’s drawn in a lot of local interest. 

Pete has seen success in the arts scene, as The Peterborough Museum and Art Gallery are hosting an exhibition in February 2026 called ‘Sugarclubbing’, which is based on the book. The book also generated enough local interest to get Pete nominated and awarded the 2025 Peterborough Civic Award for Contribution to Art and Culture. The Peterborough Civic Awards are held annually and aim to recognise residents, groups, organisations and businesses who have made a real difference to the local community. 

“It was pleasing that the judges felt the positive sentiment about the city emanating from the book”, Pete says. “There was an awards ceremony six months ago when I had returned to the city, and part of the documentary captures it. My mum passed away shortly before the event last year but I know she was proud that I had been nominated, so that was nice.” 

Documentary Film 

Excitement struck again when Martin Rowe, film director, musician and former Sugar Club DJ, expressed interest in the story. “He felt that music club documentaries always seem to be centred on London and the big cities, like Manchester, so he wanted to help tell this different story about a provincial city with less of the prestige.” Both Pete and Martin agreed they wanted a fun, entertaining movie; one scene has them returning to an old venue, which has now become an Indian Takeaway. 

“It’s been super interesting to find out about a new industry, the film industry,” Pete says. “It’s starting to get a decent profile, lots of interest already and it’s got some good, amusing parts to it. I think that someone might even eventually be interested in turning it into a feature film… we are all booked to be screened at film festivals in 2026 and then hope to be shown on a network and be streamed or distributed.” 

The Strength of Nostalgia 

But the interest isn’t only local, which Pete reckons it’s because the 90s were unbeatable. 

“It’s amazing that the 90s, which most of the story is set, hasn’t been beaten in terms of the music or the fashion” he says. “In the following decades there are now less nightclubs, venues, and socialising has changed. Last year's reunion of Oasis has galvanised people, and there’s not been a phenomenon like it.” 

“It seems that people have missed the community provided by a band performance. And the timing of my story has been coincidentally in synch with the Britpop anniversary.” 

So, whilst the book is set in Peterborough and is an ode to Pete’s time there, the setting of the alternative music club scene is really what’s enabled the book to soar overseas. The book is also sold in New Zealand, Australia, USA, where libraries have books and ebooks and audiobooks are in high demand. Pete has had national radio interviews and media features in New Zealand, and he’s even been invited onto a German music podcast. 

Whilst people abroad may have no connection with Peterborough, they can relate to the stories that Pete has told, and are enthralled about the world he is detailing. “Readers are interested to know about what really happened on the dancefloor whilst blasting our ‘Teen Spirit’ by Nirvana, and did DJ John Peel really play your record on BBC Radio 1 because you brought him onion bhajis to his studio?” 

Self-Publishing Success   

In 2024, Pete self-published his book with the hope of balancing the narrative; in 2026, Peterborough Council announced an “expression of interest” in becoming the 2029 UK city of culture. 

Pete’s self-publishing journey reveals the power of the narratives that are hidden within us. And what an exciting ride he’s had. We can’t wait to hear all about the upcoming documentary, as well as all of Pete’s future successes. 

Sugar, Gravy, Pleasure: An Indie Odyssey in Peterborough can be purchased from Troubador’s store here, in paperback, as an ebook or an audiobook.