Ben Ready can’t write about gang membership from firsthand experience. But his new urban adventure novel, “The Nock Abouts,” puts readers on the streets with him to understand some roots and remedies around gang activity.

The 367-page novel self-published in March comes to life with Ready’s rich imagination. And his long resume of serving marginalized young people in real life moves his fictitious characters through the plot like a pinball through the subcultural complexities they must bounce around to survive.

Ready, 49, volunteered for two years in Costa Rica with the Peace Corps’ urban youth development program; supervised a homeless shelter for teenagers; worked as an “attendance liaison” — aka truancy officer — for the St. Vrain Valley School District; reported for the Longmont Time

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