Leighton Buzzard author has a laugh with Elvis!

Author Robert Wells is having a laugh with Elvis Presley, the King of Rock and Roll, in his first book which has just been published.

The book is called ‘Elvis: The Siege of Graceland and Other Stories’ and features 12 fictional, funny short stories about Elvis, his family and entourage, known as the Memphis Mafia.

Covid-19 and the lockdown provided the impetus and the time to write the book for the now retired former newspaper journalist who also worked in London in public relations and corporate publishing.

Robert became a fan of Elvis as a boy and he says his deep affection and knowledge of The King has translated into the stories. He and his partner Jan made a pilgrimage to Memphis to visit Graceland, the Sun recording studio and the two-room shack in Tupelo where Elvis was born. While in Memphis they stayed in the ‘Burning Love’ suite at Heartbreak Hotel.

“Many people see Elvis’s life as a descent into tragedy, a wonderful talent that was ruined by the treadmill of dreadful movies, endless tours and shows in Las Vegas, together with the consumption of prodigious amounts of pills to keep him going.

“What I have done may well come as a surprise to many of his fans. But I have tried to look at Elvis and his life at Graceland, where he was surrounded by some wonderful and some weird people, as a comedy not a tragedy,” says Robert, who lives in Leighton Buzzard.

“Hopefully in these days of the Covid-19 pandemic and the other economic problems that are besetting us, people will enjoy an alternative view of Elvis’s life and reading something that makes them smile.”

In the stories we learn how Greta Garbo is persuaded to come out of retirement to make a movie with Elvis; the kidnapping of his manager, Colonel Tom Parker; a hair-raising incident involving Liberace at a garden party at Graceland; and an invitation from HM The Queen to Elvis to attend the Royal Highland Games.

The graphic of the Music Gates at Graceland that appears on the front cover of the book was designed by his friend Mark Austin’s studio V-One Design Solutions in Leighton Buzzard.

Robert says he is keeping his fingers crossed that the book will be a success because he has written a second book of short stories about Elvis. A third book which he is writing will be a complete change of direction. It will feature modern-day ghost and horror stories set in and around Leighton Buzzard.

‘Elvis: The Siege of Graceland and Other Stories’ is published by novum publishing, price £13.90. It is available via Amazon UK, Waterstones and Hatchards websites.