I began writing Mr. Jack on August 1st 2005; four years and nine drafts later, on August 5th 2009 I finished the final draft. In the following year I sent query letters, synopses and sample chapters to approximately 100 agents in an attempt for representation. I received twenty replies, which had essentially the same response; although they believed the project had merit, they felt unable to represent a subversive work of fiction by an untested first time author. These responses reminded me of some advice a friend of mine, Joe Strummer, had bestowed upon me some years earlier. When I once asked him if he had it all to do over again what he would have done differently with The Clash. Joe told me one of the annoyances of a major label was not having complete creative control. In that spirit I decided to publish Mr. Jack independently and it is my sincerest hope that the honesty with which Mr. Jack was written will come across the pages to you complete.