Tower and Town, September 2023 (view the full edition)Jacqueline Crooks and Ashleigh Nugent - Hiscox Debut AuthorsIn Jacqueline Crooks's Fire Rush, Yamaye, 24, spends her weekends in the late 1970s raving in an underground club on the outskirts of London where she meets Moose, the love of her life. But tragedy strikes, gangland life engulfs her and it takes a trip to Jamaica to find some kind of resolution. In Ashleigh Nugent's Locks, Aeon, just short of his 17th birthday in 1992, takes off to Jamaica with his older cousin Increase to 'make something happen'. Mayhem ensues on the streets of Montego Bay, including time spent in a horrific detention centre, where he begins to work out who is on his side. This year's Hiscox debut authors have looked back to their own youth to produce extraordinarily powerful novels. Both give the reader a roller-coaster ride as we get drawn into the alarming but exciting world of their central characters. We fear for their vulnerability but end up inspired by their irrepressible hope, energy and, at times, humour. It will be fascinating to hear how the authors react to each other's books and their individual ways of defining an identity for themselves. See our debut authors in St Mary's Church Hall at 5.30pm on Saturday 30 September.(See page 12 for pictures of book jackets)   Genevieve Clarke |