By day he's a bricklayer but by night Marcel K Andrews is an aspiring author.

Marcel, a full-time bricklayer who lives in Sprowston, has just had his second book published. 

The Silvergate Restoration is an adult comedy based around Mr Andrews’ experience of restoring a set of 18th-century cottages in north Norfolk after a fire in 2016.

The fire ravaged three cottages in Silvergate, near Blickling Hall, destroying thatched roofs and interiors to leave those living there without a home.

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Appeals were started by the local community and received over £1,500 in donations, with permanent accommodation being provided on the Blickling estate. 

Eastern Daily Press: Marcel K Andrews' fictional novel The Silvergate Restoration was inspired by his work on fire-hit homes near Blickling Hall Marcel K Andrews' fictional novel The Silvergate Restoration was inspired by his work on fire-hit homes near Blickling Hall (Image: Newsquest)

Two years after the fire, work began on a year-long restoration, backed by the National Trust.

Marcel was one of the many tradesmen working on the restoration of the cottages. 

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Speaking about his inspiration for the fictional novel, the 61-year-old said: “This is a story of the building trade that I always wanted to write.”

The novel centres on a group of builders who are tasked with restoring the cottages back to their former glory and although the characters are fictional, the stories are very much real. 

Eastern Daily Press: Sprowston bricklayer Marcel K Andrews with his fictional novel The Silvergate Restoration Sprowston bricklayer Marcel K Andrews with his fictional novel The Silvergate Restoration (Image: Marcel K Andrews)

“They are stories I have either encountered or heard over the many years of working within the building trade,” said Marcel.

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 “Some stories are tragic, some romantic and some are dark and violent, though many stories are funny.”

Eastern Daily Press: Cottages in Silvergate, near Blickling Hall, were destroyed in a 2016 fire Cottages in Silvergate, near Blickling Hall, were destroyed in a 2016 fire (Image: Newsquest)

Marcel's first book The Broadland Tree, a historical fiction novel set in Georgian Norwich, was published in 2019. A sequel has been written but has not yet been released. 

The Silvergate Restoration has been published by Austin Macauley Publishers and was released last Friday. It is available to buy online as well as in some local bookshops.