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Love’s Long Road by G D Harper

Set in and around Glasgow’s West End in the 1970s, Love’s Long Road is GD Harper’s debut novel.

Described by the Sunday Post as ‘a gritty summer read’, it is the story about a young woman leading a double life because of fear and guilt about her past. The eBook is on promotion with Amazon until July 1st, priced at 99p.

Glasgow, 1975. How do you cope when your boyfriend kills himself because of you?

When Bobbie Sinclair’s boyfriend commits suicide and blames her, she vows never to love again. Instead she chooses to lead a double existence, kind-hearted by day and promiscuous by night. She increasingly struggles to maintain the balance between light and dark and soon finds herself sucked into the world of a controlling and ruthless crime lord from which she must escape.

Set against a vibrant but seedy 1970s Glasgow backdrop, Love’s Long Road plots Bobbie’s desperate plight. Starting a new life but constantly afraid of her past catching up with her, she battles danger, adversity and drug addiction on the long and perilous road back to love.

Love’s Long Road is about dealing with the guilt of terrible events in your past and the risk of being corrupted by the world around you; it is a story that captures to perfection what it was like to be young and single in the 1970s.

Here’s an excerpt from early on in the book when Bobbie’s best friend Duncan has just returned from his Europass Train holiday 

‘I opened my eyes and quickly closed them as the midday light hit me. Ouch. I scrambled to look at the time on the clock radio. Twelve thirty. Duncan would be arriving in three and a half hours. Mad panic to get ready.
Duncan and I were at primary school when we became friends. He was already skinny and gawky, absolutely useless at football, and teased for his unruly mop of fiery red hair.  In high school we made an odd couple, although we never dated. In fact when puberty kicked in, I’m ashamed to say I backed off him a little.

He sprouted into this tall, gangly explosion of energy, jumping about like an oversized grasshopper. When Joe and I started going out together, Duncan stayed part of my circle of friends. I had my boyfriend, Duncan had his girlfriends and our friendship co-existed alongside them.

Getting the flat ready and trying to look presentable was the easy part. I’d decided that as he’d been travelling for four weeks around Europe, what Duncan needed was some home cooking. That’s why I was in a panic. I was going to make him a full roast dinner as a surprise; roast beef, Yorkshire puddings, the whole shebang. It would have been stressful at the best of times.  I’m not the world’s best cook, and the clock was ticking.

I dug out the Fanny Cradock cook book my mum had given me when I moved into my first digs, hiding in shame at the bottom of Sally’s pile of veggie cookery books. Her books were well-thumbed and food splattered; mine was in pristine condition. I didn’t have time to nip to the shops, so I had to use wholemeal flour for the Yorkshire puddings and rub the joint with cumin powder rather than ginger. How could Sally have every herb and spice known to man and not have ginger? But other than that, everything was under control.

Meat in the oven, I went back to my room to get ready. Unless I imagined it, there was still a dent in the mattress. I made the bed and hung up my yellow trouser suit. By three thirty the place was looking tidy, food was sizzling away.
Ten past four the doorbell rang, and I have to say my heart leapt a little. There was Duncan, new haircut, but the same patched denim waistcoat with all the badges on it. He had a copy of the new David Bowie album, Young Americans, under his arm. Bowie’s new look was a testing time for Duncan. He was in shock that David had gone all soul and disco and killed off Ziggy Stardust.’

Love’s Long Road can be purchased on Amazon and is available to order from all good bookshops

Paperback ISBN 978 1785890 949

 US review from Books and Bindings

G D Harper lives in the Scottish Highlands and started writing full-time in 2013.

https://www.facebook.com/gdharperauthor/

4 June, 2016

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