CARSON, Calif.–A one-time foster child, juvenile delinquent and felon from Compton will sign copies of his debut novel today at a Carson bookstore.
Kevon L. Gulley, 34, completed “Just Like Compton” in 93 days while serving an 8-year sentence in Kern Valley State Prison for fraud and receiving stolen property, publicist Jasmyne Cannick said.
Today at 3 p.m., he will be signing copies of self-published book at Smiley’s Bookstore at 20220 S. Avalon Blvd.
Gulley is hoping the novel, which revolves around life in a gang, will buy him enough time–on the outside–to write a second one.
As a juvenile, the former Centennial High School student was sentenced to 10 years in a California Youth Authority detention center for carjacking and kidnapping.
In 2003, he faced up to 150 years in prison on charges of fraud and receiving stolen property but, because his previous crimes had all been committed as a juvenile, he ended up being sentenced to eight years.
In prison, Gulley earned an associate degree in liberal arts and decided to write and self-publish his novel, which he plans to be the first in a series.
According to Cannick, Gulley was born to a heroin-addicted mother who left him alone for nearly three months in public housing in Watts. His grandmother rescued him, Cannick said, but Gulley became a ward of the county after his grandmother’s death.
