Quadrophenia Meets Romeo & Juliet, Goodbye Morecambe By M N Stewart

On The Table Read Magazine, “the best entertainment eBook magazine UK“, Goodbye Morecambe by M N Stewart follows Stanton, a disillusioned skinhead trapped in a bleak seaside town, who meets the reserved Heather and experiences a profound connection amidst their shared struggles with the past.

 

Goodbye Morecambe

M N Stewart’s Goodbye Morecambe is a gritty, working-class love story that pulses with both poignancy and electrifying intensity. Drawing inspiration from his own upbringing in the seaside town, Stewart crafts a narrative that transcends the romance genre. This isn’t simply a love story; it’s a gripping exploration of the human spirit, grappling with themes of revenge, jealousy, hope, and the possibility of redemption.

Described by early readers as “gripping,” “authentic,” “evocative,” and “compelling,” Goodbye Morecambe transports us to the summer of 1985, where the lives of disenfranchised skinhead Stanton and the timid Heather intertwine. Their chance encounter ignites an unlikely bond, a fragile beacon of hope amidst the bleakness of their seaside town. As Stanton grapples with his troubled past and Heather seeks escape from her own, their connection deepens, only to be threatened by the forces that seek to tear them apart.

What begins as a gentle friendship quickly descends into a dangerous game of cat and mouse, fueled by jealousy and the weight of their pasts. Stanton’s innocent intervention sets off a chain of events that will forever alter their lives, leaving them racing against time to escape the clutches of their fate and find a future beyond the confines of their decaying town.

M N Stewart

I was inspired to write Goodbye Morecambe because I grew up there and worked on its fairground as a teenager and was fascinated by the gang culture of the mid 80’s that dominated the town. I believe that we are not constrained by our past, that there is hope and good in everyone and that anyone can be redeemed given the chance and the right environment. This is a fundamental foundation of my story, one that may appear profound but has been portrayed simply, so that by the end we are all rooting for Stanton and Heather, motivated by individually specific but universally felt reasons.

The story is set over the course of less than a week but that does not remove anything from its layering or texture. In its simplest form It is a love story, but one that is also thrilling. At its most complex, it explores the human condition and its many traits, specifically revenge and jealousy, but also hope and redemption. I believe it also holds up a mirror to society and asks some important moral questions that I believe we should not be scared to debate.

This book would fall under the genre of literary fiction and its characters have a cinematic feel. The 70’s had Jimmy Cooper in Quadrophenia, the 90’s had Renton in Trainspotting.

The 1980’s deserve their Stanton.

I have been reading since the age of seven, starting with all the works of Enid Blyton. A teacher at primary school gave me a book called The Dolphin Crossing, a story which I can still recall vividly to this day. Throughout my teenage years, I became deeply entrenched in exploring the world of literature – Orwell, Bates, Conan Doyle, Salinger, Steinbeck, to name a few. Bizarrely, I would only read books by dead authors, my rationale being, if they were still being published after they had died, then they must be quite good. Even today, I still do the same. Sorry JK, but at least it means you’re still with us.

I used to love writing as well. Strange, funny essays at school, weird postcards from around the world and, most famously, a letter to the examiner who had the misfortune of marking my only A level, informing them that Modern History was unlikely to be a career for which I was made. For most of us though, life has a habit of taking away huge slices of time as we transform from children with all the questions into adults with none of the answers.

In 2020 we were all locked down. Some chose the time to make sourdough bread whereas I saw it as the opportunity to finally sit down and write the book which 80% of the world believe is within them. Literature is subjective and I appreciate one person’s Ernest Hemingway is another person’s Nadine Dorries. However I am convinced, if you write with authenticity about interesting people then you will create a story worth telling.

I firmly believe that my book has all the qualities that Somerset Maugham suggests, and I hope you enjoy reading Goodbye Morecambe as much as I enjoyed writing it.

-M N Stewart

Find more from M N Stewart now:

www.goodbyemorecambe.co.uk

Kindle: https://amzn.to/4fZM1nN

Paperback: https://amzn.to/4amCBS0

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