When Jokers Were Kings

When mild-mannered mail clerk Bertie Jones tries his luck as an Elvis Presley impersonator, his whole world gets shaken up. His doting mother doesn’t approve, for a start. But with his best friend as his overzealous manager and a budding romance with Jasmine, a Michael Jackson tribute artist, Bertie just might be about to hip-shake his way to the most unlikely stardom.

Take a front-row seat to a tour de force of a musical and personal journey, set against the backdrop of a banking royal commission and a white-knuckle road trip that includes a run-in with a Ned Kelly impersonator – all squeezed into a tight rhinestone jumpsuit. It’s a rollicking return for the King … and one he definitely would not have seen coming.

When Jokers Were Kings is an uplifting romantic comedy brimming with offbeat ideas about modern life, love and finding your voice.

John Tesarsch is the author of The Philanthropist, The Last Will and Testament of Henry Hoffman, and Dinner with the Dissidents, which was shortlisted for the Colin Roderick Award. He has degrees in music and law, and he pursued a career as a cellist in Vienna before he turned to writing. He is also a barrister and lectures in law at the University of Melbourne.