BETWEEN THE WHITE LINES

The year is 1978, and young Scottish driver Sam Ferguson is at a pivotal moment in his racing journey. As the son of a Formula One legend, Sam faces immense pressure to live up to his late father’s legacy while navigating the perils and controversies of the world’s fastest sport.

At the end of a tumultuous sophomore season, Sam has joined his third team in three years with the hope of a fresh start, and an uphill climb looms. His new teammate, the brash and outspoken Tom Evans, despises the young Scot after an incident that cost him the previous year’s championship. To make matters worse, the press continues to put insurmountable expectations on Sam to fill his father’s shoes. And then there’s Lee Jones, the defending world champion. Marked with charm and boundless confidence, Jones not only sets a high bar for the rest of the field, but does so in controversial fashion.

An intimate and immersive adventure ensues as Sam races against the ghost of his father while duelling with some of the bravest drivers on the planet. In a world where legacies are both forged and shattered in the blink of an eye, can Sam triumph on the boundary of disaster, or will his dream go up in smoke?

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I started writing this story in the fall of 2021. What started as an idea that flashed across my mind quickly turned into my love letter to Formula One. And it’s been a rewarding journey! Part of the process involved building an fictional Formula One universe for this story to live in. While following the true-to-life schedule from the 1978 Formula One season, I’ve created an entire grid of drivers and teams, many of whom were influenced by racing legends from that era such as Niki Lauda, Mario Andretti, James Hunt, Gilles Villeneuve, Enzo Ferrari, and others. So, for all the racing junkies out there, you might find a few Easter eggs that serve as nods to racing’s biggest heroes of yesteryear.

Maybe you enjoyed the Drive to Survive documentary series on Netflix. Or perhaps you appreciated films like Rush, Days of Thunder, Le Mans, Grand Prix, Driven, and Ford v. Ferrari. Or you could just love sharing your passion for motorsport with the rest of the world. If so, then my hope is that this story speaks to you.

Currently, I’m submitting to literary agents in the hopes of finding a co-driver who can help bring this project to life. Beyond that? Time will tell, but I truly hope that one day, this story finds itself on the desks and bookshelves of racing fans around the world, including yours.

Race on.