Hove author uses his fascinating personal experience of evading the Vietnam-era draft as a basis for his latest thriller.

It’s 1969.

Stephen's plans to attend Harvard Law School are derailed by the Vietnam War draft lottery. Faced with the prospect of being sent to fight in Southeast Asia, he evades military service by fleeing to California.

Arrested at an anti-war protest, Stephen flees again, this time to a commune in northern California. There, he falls in love with Sharon, the leader of an underground radical group. Under Sharon’s influence, Stephen plants a bomb that accidentally claims a life. Escaping from the FBI, he heads to Canada with his newborn daughter, Rosie, after Sharon decides to stay behind. As Rosie grows up, Stephen conceals the truth about their past. Many years later, Rosie uncovers the truth and sets out to find her mother. With the FBI closing in, Rosie loses her father and is left to navigate an uncertain future.

Luck of the Draw is a thriller laced with radical politics, divided loyalties, and personal tragedies. Ultimately, it is a story of love, loss, and survival.

After a distinguished academic career, Stuart Blackburn began writing novels and won the MM Bennetts prize for historical fiction with Into the Hidden Valley (2016). Luck of the Draw, his sixth novel, draws on his personal experiences during the Vietnam War era. Born and educated in America, he now lives with his wife on the south coast of England.

Stuart explains: “Like my character, I was caught up in the Vietnam war draft lottery. Like him, I was going to go to Harvard Law School. Like him, I went to teach in a private school in Maine. Like him, I got a low number in the draft, meaning that I would be drafted and probably sent to fight in Vietnam. Like him, I had a humiliating medical examination. Unlike him, I took the exit route of joining the Peace Corps [considered national service in lieu of the military]. I was sent to a rural part of south India, where I learned the local language, which later led to my PhD and academic career. I was lucky. My character was not.”

'Luck of the Draw' is being published by The Book Guild on the 28th January 2025. It will be available from The Book Guild website, Amazon, Waterstones and all good retailers.