The Broken Bottle

Paperback published by BrokenDownBooks via Draft2Digital, 2023 ISBN 9798223432487

Ebook published by BrokenDownBooks via Draft2Digital, 2023 ISBN 9798223276418

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Order ebook with additional original music

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A novel, for the Young/New Adult (or indeed any adult really). My first novel to boot, and the first of a trilogy featuring Wilf Hughes. Set in the fictional town of Croalworth, Lancashire, the novel tells the tale of a mid-teen, his school band, his first girlfriend and his first taste of the perils of adult life in the late 1980s.

A video trailer for the book can be viewed here:

The story revolves around Wilf's school band, and original music for the story was written and recorded. This can be downloaded with ebook copies of the book if you want to hear it. There is also limited edition art available, including the cover art for the band's cassette and individual sections of the six-part artwork inspired by the novel as seen in the trailer video.

I'll write more about this novel in future posts, and its sequels as they arrive.

 From Banwell to Berlin and Beyond - The Book of BOB

Hardback published by i40Publishing, 2023 ISBN 9781838292423

Paperback published by i40Publishing, 2023 ISBN 9781838292430 

Order copy (paperback only) £10.99 plus P&P

Legendary indie band BOB, championed by John Peel and loved by many, many alternative music aficionados, allowed me to write their official biography. As interest in their reissued back catalogue grew, and plans to release a huge archive of previously unheard material came to fruition, I spent time with the band in Cornwall as they rehearsed for their farewell tour.

I continued to chat with the band members individually and collectively throughout the Covid pandemic and its aftermath, and the story is enhanced by various members of the band's inner circle and, crucially, the fans themselves.

150 Hardback copies were initially published through the i40Publishing micropress, all of which were accompanied by an exclusive CD of unreleased material by the band entitled 'Chapters'. These copies sold out within a month, and a paperback version was printed to meet demand. This did not come with the CD, although the disc remains available from the band's website.

A limited number of copies remain available, and can be ordered by emailing above.

Long live BOB! Here's the video to their Indie Hit 'Convenience':

Seasonal Adjustments

Paperback published by Broken Down Books via Draft2Digital 2023 ISBN 9798215580080

Ebook published by Broken Down Books via Draft2Digital 2022 ISBN 9798215613696

Order print copy here £8.99 + P&P

Order ebook copy here

Poetry!

My first anthology of poems was published in 2022 by Broken Down Books via Draft2Digital.

The poems take the reader on a journey from Spring through to Spring, with humour, wit, wisdom and rhyme (delete as applicable...)

Here's an example. A follow-up is in process, and future posts here might include some contenders.

Print copies can be ordered by emailing at the above link

The View from Orlando Bridge

Paperback published by Broken Down Books via Lulu.com 2020 ISBN 9781716632686 

Order print copy here

Following the success of 'Capturing the Wry' I published 'The View from Orlando Bridge' in 2020. The book recounts memories of supporting and watching Bolton Wanderers during the 1980s and 1990s, tracking the club's fortunes (and misfortunes.) 

Each chapter focuses on one specific game, although several others are detailed throughout the tale, which is as much about growing up in the north west of England as it is about football. Chapters are arranged as a starting eleven with a substitute for good measure (there was only one allowed in the days the 10-year old John first went to watch Bolton play). Whether you choose to read the book in a 4-4-2, 4-3-3 or 5-3-2 formation is entirely up to you.

 

Capturing the Wry

Paperback published by i40Publishing via Biddles, 2018 ISBN 9781999582784

ebook published by Broken Down Books via Draft2Digital 2022 ISBN 9798215725719

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This was the first book published by the micropress i40Publishing, an offshoot of the Everything Indie Over 40 social media community, and the first book I had written to be formally published. Telling the factual story of Bolton-based indie band the Irony Board between 1993 and 1995, the book was accompanied by a 15-song CD containing all the band's studio recordings. 

I launched the book with readings and live song performances at the LP Cafe in Watford. 100 copies of the paperback were printed and the edition sold out within weeks. I say 100 copies were sold, one was given away in a competition, and another was left out in the wild to be read and then passed on. Who knows where that one resides now?

Due to subsequent popular demand, an ebook version was published. This is available to buy via the links above, with or without the songs.

Hello.

This is the official site of John Hartley (Writer). 

Other John Hartleys exist. I know; I've been working on my family tree.

Other John Hartleys exist who are writers. I know this too, as my books often get attributed to them in error and, quite probably, they would complain the reverse is equally true.

So, by way of formal introduction, I am John Hartley, the writer who has brought the world various articles about music at Toppermost, Everything Indie Over 40, Dukla Prague Away Kit and Neo-Tokyo. I have also written about football on the In Bed With Maradona site. Some of these sites are now only accessible via the Way Back Machine. I might post some of my archive on here, for longevity's sake.

I am the same John Hartley who has written the following books:

'Capturing the Wry' (music memoir)

'The View From Orlando Bridge' (football memoir)

'Seasonal Adjustments' (poetry) 

'From Banwell to Berlin and Beyond - the Book of BOB' (music biography)

'The Broken Bottle' (YA/New Adult fiction)

I will write about those in more detail on this blog.

Works in progress include parts 2 and 3 of 'The Broken Bottle' trilogy, 'Searching for the Sound of Riduna' (YA/New Adult fiction), and the follow-up to 'Capturing the Wry'.

I will write about these in more detail on this blog too.

I am also John Hartley, sometimes trading as Johny Nocash (est. 1988) in various recorded music guises. You can hear that sort of stuff at www.brokendownrecords.bandcamp.com

Should you so desire, you may contact me via email at hartleyjohn72@googlemail.com 

I reserve the right to reply or not, especially dependent on if you are a bot.