Secret Summer
Here is a
heartrending tale of young love. Narvel Annable reaches down into the joys
and sorrows of his past to produce an autobiographic account of adventure,
passion and pain. A cracking whodunit; it features a missing person and
contract killers from the unforgiving criminal underworld of Detroit.
Barely out of his teens, Simeon is homesick for his beloved Derbyshire, but
falls in love with a mysterious tough-guy called Ahmed.
The storyline
explores a mixture of magic and menace following two incompatible personalities,
desperately trying to make their relationship work in the homophobic landscape
of Detroit, January 1966.
Why secret?
Because when you are young, when you are in love and if you are gay in 1966 - it
must be secret. You lust in secret, hunt in secret and love in secret.
See Simeon in love; a rollercoaster, a frantic mixture of agony and ecstasy
spanning the Atlantic Ocean. He has no support save for that which was
available from the frequently unreliable world of gay men who were riddled with
all their own personal problems, repressions and hang-ups.
“Another quirky
corker in the Derbyshire mystery series from the irrepressible Narvel Annable.
A Boy’s Own story from 1966; it is a most entertaining read.”
Peter Tatchell
Secret
Summer’s
First Review
Below - edited
extracts from the Belper News of October 6th 2010 by Katy
Hallam.
What Katy said
…
Literature can be
appreciated by so many different people. It can bring them together, make
them laugh and make them cry.
In many instances
it can even serve to break down negative views and stereotypes.
A book written by a
retired man from Belper, quite easily accomplishes all of the above – and more.
Not only is
Secret Summer the first of Narvel Annable’s novels to be professionally
published, it is the first to reach audiences in America.
Narvel has achieved
what so many British celebrities have tried to do and failed - he has made it in
America.
The book was
snapped up by The Nazca Plains Corporation situated in the bright lights of Las
Vegas.
Although this book
has more than enough exciting twists and turns to stand alone as a truly
gripping fictional read, it also has a very important message – that people’s
lives can be ruined by the attitudes of others.
Secret
Summer
is not just a must for the gay community – it also celebrates the beautiful
Belper countryside and the surrounding towns and villages are given several
mentions. It celebrates Narvel’s love of the area.
Extracts
Reviews
