Just a Small Town: No work, no hope, forgotten by everyone. A jolt of happiness comes from getting high. This small town could be anywhere.
About this ebook
Four young people are among the left behind
Alex consumes heroin to escape his abusive father. Jim hides from guilt after the death of the friend he didn’t save. Chelsi’s brother killed a local boy, pushing her towards a rival gang and prostitution. Danny thinks he’s in control but needs protection from the drug gang that supplies him.
Can they turn their lives around?
Author, Paul Linggood, has lived the life he writes about. He’s seen friends live and die on the streets. Every character is detailed with gut-wrenching realism.
Gripping from beginning to end, this is a powerful novel written by an author who knows how to grab his audience.
About the author
Paul Linggood dropped out of school at 16. He joined a gang, and drugs and violence became a large part of his life. His debut novel, Just a Small Town, reflects this life. His home town of Stevenage, is a town that could be anywhere - industry is in decline, streets are in decay and many take short-term joy in drugs. His novel highlights the neglect and despair within old industrial towns and the damaging influence of gangs in society. Paul writes about what he knows: friends who became gangsters, were incarcerated, became addicts, died from overdoses, were killed or killed themselves. He says, “I believe I have some authority to write about aspects of the novel. When I was younger, I had many similarities to the characters in the early chapters, particularly Jim. I came from a family broken by divorce. I was involved with drugs and hung around the streets. My friend was stabbed by another of my friends when I was 17 and this had a massive impact on me. I went to a pretty bad place for a while but managed to come out the other side.” Paul’s life changed when he met a girl, went to night school, studied for a BA in English Literature and followed this with an MA in Creative Writing.