Writers are often told to ‘write what you know’, and one local resident has taken that to heart by setting his second book in the town where he grew up.
Steve Johnson’s debut novel, The Hidden Road Home, was set during the Second World War and was released last year. The author said the response was “better than I could have ever hoped, with dozens of five-star reviews on Amazon”.
With his second book, Soul Objective, Steve has decided to fast-forward 30 years and write a coming-of-age psychological drama set in 1975. The story takes place in his hometown of Watford, and he wrote much of it in That Little Coffee Shop on Abbots Langley High Street.
The main protagonist is Garston boy Tom Holland, whose world is blown apart when a devastating family secret resurfaces on his 21st birthday.
Steve explains that music features prominently throughout the narrative, and readers may recognise several familiar haunts including Top Rank/Baileys, The New Penny, and The Coachmakers Arms.
Speaking to Abbotsnews, Steve said: “I think the youth culture from 1970-75 has been largely ignored and I want to address that. It was a great time to be young. There was an optimism then.
“I hope that even those who don’t have a Watford connection will just enjoy it as a story; a snapshot of a world that is gone now but did once exist. I don’t believe you should live in the past, but it’s a nice place to visit.”
Soul Objective is available from Amazon in paperback and e-book formats and from Over the Moon gift shop in Abbots Langley.
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