It takes a knowledgeable writer to input great music and relevant book references into their own writing and make them belong.

It also takes a great imagination, feeling and humanity, to write a novel where the characters will make you remember your youth, make you cry, make you feel, spark happiness and make you reconsider the choices you are making, or may have already made.

In S. Fitts, the world of the written word has found all of those things. S makes you identify.

S writes in Bleeding Gut Blues with feeling, honesty and gumption. The characterisations in this novel will make you want to guide, nurture, and generally parent the misguided and often confused cast. You will need dedication and concentration for this novel, but the time and effort given will reward you tenfold.

From the very first chapter you will be sucked in and start wearing your feelings on your sleeve. You will remember when once you did that; you will remember the feelings of loss, hope, despair, trust and mistrust, the glimmer of hope and happiness in your early adulthood.

This is a tale of youth gone wild, but not by design. A story that could be your life, your dreams and your search for a future, somewhere safe and protected with people you can trust. This could be your search for a family and humanity.

If you love rock n roll, if you love people and most of all if you love life, this is a must read. Not all plain sailing with much sadness mixed in, but food for thought and a jolt of reality in world that all too often judges a book by its cover.

www.bleedinggutblues.com

Twitter @kaffeeistgut

By Karen Graham 1 November 2012