Author Mac Dyson offers a cheeky rewriting of conventional mythology within an unusual love story.
"So your life sucks. Couldn't be suckier if you tried. Falling in love with the most hated figure of All Time isn't going to make it any better. So he brought you back from the Dead. Just say thanks. And move on. Very quickly! … Please?"
Kiwi author Mac Dyson has released a Smashwords eBook edition of "The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea", a controversial full length novel for young adults. Into the cosy world of 1970s small town New Zealand walks – OK, flies – Nick, who's not your usual tourist and certainly not your typical poster-boy for gay rights.
"I wanted to offer young Gays/Lesbians/Bis, their families and friends, the vision of a different heritage, and therefore the potential for an alternative future." said Dyson, "So I chose to rewrite history from the angle of the ultimate outsider. History is after all the very particular perspective of those ‘in charge’. I wondered how famous bible stories and familiar myths might have looked from another point of view.”
“Plus every romance requires an exceedingly attractive leading man – who better than the Devil?”
Synopsis: The Summer of ’79. A remote southern New Zealand beach. A group of school friends spend one last Xmas holidays together before the cares of Uni' and the 'real' world intrude.
Day one, our over-sensitive muso' hero, Jamie is rescued from suicide by an extremely spunky stranger. Add a shadowy air of mystery and he's the perfect object for desire, although Nick's nocturnal tendencies and ability to fly should ring warning bells. However, for our two romantic heroes it's not all moonlight surfing because after bad relationship experiences with Will Shakespeare, Robin Hood, Cain, and 'God', Nick has commitment issues. Then, there's the challenge of the unique and subversive manner in which he sees history, morality, and the meanings of all their lives.
Jamie, his best mate and lover Dom, Dom’s girlfriend Jude, her baby drag-princess brother Ryan, their bandmate Su, Louise the gorgeous country cousin, and the sexy captain of the school rugby team (gay-basher?) Russell Wells, all get to confront the question – who’s idea of Life are they living? If it’s all someone else’s grand story, how do they escape and get to be the author of their own?
Mac Dyson is an actor/director and classical counter-tenor. Born in the Celtic south of New Zealand, he now calls Sydney home after a six year sojourn singing in the Cathedrals of England and Europe, and an ‘intriguing’ detour living on the streets. "The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea" is his first novel, though he has been a recipient of a playwriting grant from Toi Aotearoa (Arts Council of New Zealand), and his Theatre and Performance Art works have appeared at Sydney Mardi Gras. He is currently completing the final draft of a comic fantasy for early teens "Making It Home".
Mac can be contacted on [email protected]
For a limited time – till November 30th – free Reviewer-only copies of "The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea" can be downloaded from Smashwords at www.smashwords.com/books/view/
Smashwords: Founded in 2008, Smashwords operates the world's leading ebook publishing and distribution platform. Smashwords makes it free and easy for authors and publishers to instantly publish and distribute their books as multi-format ebooks, putting them in full control over the pricing, sampling and distribution of their works. Authors and publishers receive up to 85 percent of the net proceeds from sales of their works. Smashwords has distribution relationships with leading online retailers such as Apple, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Sony and Diesel eBooks, and leading mobile e-reading apps including Aldiko, Stanza, Kobo, FBReader and Word-Player, spanning all major mobile platforms including Android, Blackberry and iPhone. An independent company, Smashwords is based in Los Gatos California, and can be reached on the web at http://www.smashwords.com/. Visit the official Smashwords blog at http://blog.smashwords.com/