My buddy Mike Lynch has been writing fiction for as long as me, with both of us completing a novel while we were in University. Both of us went down the dystopic city route, though in very different ways. My novel, Jethro`s Fall, was about a guy in a post-apocalypse walled city, who follows all the corporate rules for success but is still miserable and seeking a way out. Mike`s is more of a trip back to a 1984-esque failed state, with a family struggling to survive under the dictator`s brutal regime.
About 10 years have passed since we finished them. I`ve thought occasionally about dusting mine off, while in the meantime Mike has been seriously reworking his. The result is a book eminently worthy of publication, thrillingly paced, intriguing, tense, gritty, and funny. However it has not so far been able to find publication. Mike took matters into his own hands and put the novel up on the Harper Collins site Authonomy, where authors vote for other authors` work, and the best get publishing contracts.
This is a plug for Mike`s book ‘Calloway Blood’ on that site. His blurb-
Fear is endemic.
If a man won’t bend, he will be broken.
This is Straybeck.
The Premier demands loyalty and, behind him, the Cathedral casts a long, black shadow.
Rob Calloway has fought before. He has paid a terrible price.
Ryan Calloway is weighed down by his father’s shame. Twenty years later he is drawn into the same fight.
His younger brother, John, wants to protect Ryan until they fall for the same girl.
Alia Turner is the daughter of a factory owner. She was part of Straybeck’s elite until a worker riot left her father a cripple.
Calloway Blood is the story of one family struggling to survive. In a terrifying city, we see a boy growing up too fast and a father and brother who can’t keep him safe.
If you have a spare moment, follow this link and read the first few chapters of his book. If you like it, consider joining the site and putting his book on your bookshelf, maybe even leaving a comment. It`ll be much appreciated, and will help Mike on his path to publication :).
I for one love the book- it’s kind of mix of American History X and 1984, very tersely written, with a real and growing sense of threat laced throughout the book. The characters are raw, funny, genuine, and by the end I felt like an extension of their family. A gripping ride, even though I’ve read it about 4 times in various drafts by now.