“Evening.”
Billy stuffed a digestive biscuit into his mouth, whole, spilling crumbs down the front of his t-shirt, then dusted the debris of foliage off the top of the wall before sitting down.
“Evening,” Esther laughed. “Such a romantic entrance, William.”
Billy and Esther live in North Shields, North Tyneside; a town that last year celebrated its 800th birthday. Their story , 'Nothing Much', is set in the mid-1990s, a time of local industrial, economic and societal turbulence.
Esther Rodgerson and William Fannen lived in North Shields, Northumberland; a town that was 650 years into its development from small fishing huts on the edge of the Tyne. They married in 1873, William a boatbuilder and Esther the daughter of the Tyne Ferry stationmaster. Her father, Joseph, was my three-times Great Grandfather.
The ideas behind 'Nothing Much' began to form following some family history research and a visit to the town in 2024. The story is, of course, pure fiction. However, the themes - families, teenagers, relationships, friendships, love - are far from that. They are themes that course through every age, every generation, every life.
'Nothing Much' is not a story about life and death. There's plenty enough of that around to read. No: 'Nothing Much' is just a story about life - the little conversations we have with the neighbours, our work colleagues, our families, each other. The little moments we share that rock no foundations but cement our relationships in shared experience.
'Nothing Much' is available to pre-order now, ahead of its Nov 6th publication. Various options are available for pre-order:
Signed: Paperback (5"x8", 168pp) with free CD-r original soundtrack album. Available up to an including 1st November 2026. £12.99 plus postage here
Digital: Ebook (PDF/EPUB/MOBI files) plus digital original soundtrack album. £7.00 here
Basic: Paperback (£12.99 plus postage) or Ebook (£3.99) from the bookstore of your choice here
image and text copyright John Hartley 2026. All rights reserved.
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