Changes: Buckland Gap 2, by Charles Wiltshire, is the sequel to the book Buckland Gap. Steven Harding, a former resident of Portsmouth, England, returns home after finishing a lengthy prison term. During his internment he has become a reformed man, with new values in life and the realization that he is also gay. Steven returns to a community where everyone, his family included, are consumed by hatred and racism, who depend on drugs, alcohol, criminality and hand-outs to exist. Steven sets his sights on a new and better life, but finds himself constantly assaulted by the old one, as the very sub-culture of Portsmouth itself tries to lure him back into the old ways. The author presents a rather bleak picture of life for the sub-strata of people living in Portsmouth, where crime and violence are the norm, not the exception - but also an eye-opening one. Steven must swim against the murky tides of a rank and dehumanizing existence, where the final outcome, the inevitable end to its road, is but one - misery, addiction and an early death. The question is, can he succeed?
Review by International Writers Inspiring Change
About C.S. Wiltshire
Tell us about yourself …CS: My name is CS Wiltshire and I hail from Hampshire in England. My work experience is based around the IT industry but in my heart I have always wanted to be full time author. I love creating stories and building fictional worlds. My other loves in life are cooking, running and motorbikes.
IWIC: What inspired your writing …CS: I have been reading novels since a very early age. In my younger days it was mainly science fiction but as I matured my scope of reading spread into most genres. Now, I will read anything as long as the story is interesting. This is now my second novel.
IWIC: Is there a message in your books …CS: There is a message in Changes – Buckland Gap2. Everyone can change for the better. It may not be easy but if the desire exists then nothing is out of reach.
IWIC: Tell us about your new book …CS: My latest book is Changes – Buckland Gap 2. This book is a gritty and sometimes violent story of a young man, Steven Harding, who was trapped in a world of poverty, anger and despair. He ended up in prison where, thanks to determination and hard work, he started on a long road of change and hope for a better life. When he was finally released, the road for change became even harder as his family tried to draw him back into his previous life. Steven meanwhile, wants to study at university and start a new future. This is the follow-up to the hard hitting and controversial Buckland Gap and is a story of hope. We can all change. We can all take a better path, if we want. The story itself is set around a short period in the protagonist’s life during which he tries to set his new life in motion while avoiding the anger of his family for being gay and wanting to enroll at university.
