Writing about Nick Drake leads seventeen-year-old David to Nottingham, where, in the late 1970s, he encounters the formidable singer/songwriter Kevin Coyne and, most weeks, goes to see local legends, Gaffa. This original, beguiling memoir weaves Belbin’s story,
from teenage depression to becoming a best-selling author, together with those of Drake, Coyne and Gaffa, drawing on interviews conducted over forty-four years.
David Belbin’s books include The Beat series for young adults; the Bone and Cane crime novels and, for Five Leaves, the novels The Pretender and Student, and young adult fiction including Love Lessons and Secret Gardens. David lives in Nottingham, where many of his books are set. He teaches Creative Writing at Nottingham Trent University.