Soldier’s WWII experiences focus of author’s first novel
Brick native Jack Sharkey
spent five years writing
and editing manuscript
By Joyce Blay
Staff Writer

PHOTO BY VERONICA YANKOWSKI Author Jack Sharkey of Jackson is enjoying the success of his first book War Comes Home. The Brick native has already finished his second novel, to be published in June.

JACKSON — John Lennon sang about becoming a paperback writer, and now Jack Sharkey has become one.

The 43-year-old author’s first novel, War Comes Home, was published in paperback last month by Moondance Publishing, and even though he is not a rock star, Sharkey is still singing his publisher’s praises.

"My experience with the publishing business is that it’s tightly run by just a few people and everybody else is an outsider looking in," said Sharkey. "That’s why Moondance is a godsend; it enables unknown people to say what it is they have to say."

According to Sharkey, his book tells the story of a World War II veteran through the eyes of his children and how that soldier’s wartime experiences affected his baby boomer offspring growing up in the turbulent 1960s.

Although Sharkey grew up in a large family that included five uncles who fought in World War II and a father who saw action in Korea, he has never served in the military.

"I have always loved history, especially the last half of the 20th century, which included the Cold War," said Sharkey. "I had to read a lot of historical references to write this book."

Seated at the kitchen table of his comfortable suburban home in Jackson, where Sharkey and his wife of 11 years, Jeanette, live with their daughter, Kaitlyn, 9, the sales manager for an electronics distributor reflected on his past interest in writing and on his newfound success as an author.

"I was born and bred in Brick, but I moved to Jackson in 1999," said Sharkey. "I got writing experience early on, doing press releases for the Republican Party in Brick, where I grew up."

Sharkey later sharpened his writing skills through freelance writing as a newspaper correspondent. He said his full-time job provides a good living and also afforded him the opportunity to travel — a boon to the aspiring writer since that enabled him to visualize the different locales in his novel.

"I did not want to write a ‘New Jersey’ novel, which can be limiting since publishers and readers tend to expect the same type of novel again and again," said Sharkey. "That’s not why you write a book. I have a good job, a wonderful family. Why would I need to be published that badly? It wasn’t that important to me."

But writing was still important to Sharkey, important enough that he said he spent two years penning War Comes Home and another three years editing it. But writing a book proved to be less challenging than getting it published.

"I sent out inquiry letters after the first nibbles," said Sharkey, "but it took about 15 rejections before anyone was interested in me."

Sharkey said the version of his novel that Moondance Publishing, a small house with offices in New York, Pennsylvania and Dublin, Ire-land, initially accepted was 126,000 words, but after representatives advised Sharkey to expand the book, he said the final product came in at 133,000 words and 439 pages — which still astonishes him. Still, he is pleased with the results of that collaboration.

"A large house would have rewritten the book rather than edited it," said Sharkey. "Another publisher suggested to me that they needed a romance novel and wanted to make my book fit their need."

The daunting experience of shopping a book from one publishing house to another didn’t disillusion Sharkey, but he did make a sobering realization.

"I finally came to the conclusion that I didn’t need to be the next Tom Clancy," he said. "I didn’t need to be a sellout to get a book published. The characters were the important thing to me, not the notoriety of getting published."

To that end, Sharkey said he made a substantial investment in paper alone since he prefers to edit his computer-generated hard copy. But in the end, his investment paid off.

"We had a big book party at the Spring Lake Manor, and I signed a ton of books. The party was by invitation only, but about 120 people showed. Irish step dancers and bagpipers (provided entertainment) since the family I write about were Irish, like me," he said.

Not only were readers thrilled to meet the author whose work had entertained them, Sharkey said he received compliments since then that have confirmed his faith and perseverance in pursuing writing.

"One of the greatest things I’ve heard is that veterans who have read the book said that I absolutely got it right," said Sharkey. "That means a lot to me."

So did the experience of writing a first novel. As a result, Sharkey said he has already written a second one, which will be published by June by Moondance and its publisher, Barry McKeown.

Even longer than War Comes Home, the new book runs a total of 475 pages, but like his first work it will be released in paperback — and that is not a decision based on a whim, said Sharkey. He explained that a book published in hard cover by an unknown newcomer such as himself would retail at a higher price than would a paperback novel. It was a lesson in practicality that the author has taken one step further by this time writing about a Vietnam veteran adjusting to civilian life, even while experiencing post-traumatic stress syndrome. Since he has several cousins who served in Vietnam, Sharkey said he preferred to continue to write about what he knows.

"I’d love to quit my day job and do this full time," he said. "It’s not so much a consuming passion as much as that I always knew I wanted to do this."

Sharkey will attend a book signing at the Jackson library on Jan. 18 at 2 p.m. and he has a book-signing appearance scheduled for Feb. 15 at Barnes & Noble, Brick Plaza, Brick.