Synopsis:
What, you expected sterling praise from famous writers? Sorry, I can't provide that because I am forced to publish Confederate Nation myself. Besides, I suspect that many of those testimonials are just favors from friends who may not have even read the book. And you never see a bad one, right?
Let's face it, the so called mainstream publishing industry has become constipated and reluctant to do much more than recycle the gorp of mediocre but established writers. It is mostly unwilling to take a chance and discover new and exciting writers.
So, I am taking matters in my own hands and getting Confederate Nation in front of readers. Life is too short to wait for a break. I'm going to try and make it happen now.
Is this a great book? Probably not. There are very few great books published any more. But is it entertaining? Yes. Does it tell an odd story? Certainly. And I have always thought it should be a movie, too. With proper padding and makeup, Kurt Russell could again be Elvis.
~Michael Loyd Gray
CUSTOMER REVIEW from BarnesandNoble.com
Pamela Ackerson, author, May 11, 2006, "highly recommended"
Confederate Nation Special appearance by Elvis Presley by Michael Loyd Gray
General Fiction Published by iUniverse 2005
Reviewer: Pamela Ackerson (author of Home of the Braves, We the People)
Confederate Nation is a unique story with twists in the plot that keeps the reader intent on wanting to know what will happen next. Michael Gray puts a different perspective of how our country would be if the South won the war against the North and we became two separate nations. Reunification is impending when the main character, Grail Hudson, a historian and professor at the University of Illinois, learns that his father is alive ... and a southern radical. Hudson's quest for truth takes him to the Confederate States where he finds himself entangled with the famous Elvis Presley and Robert, an ex porn star, as his traveling companions. The novel is an entertaining journey of discovery with enough reality weaving through the story line to grab the reader and make them want to keep turning the pages.
It’s 1966 and as the Rolling Stones conquer America, 17-year-old Billy Ray Fleener flees the Republican gravitational pull of Argus, Illinois, the conservative strictness of his father, and a future career in plumbing supplies for a road trip to Helena, Arkansas, to visit the grave of his Uncle Milt, who was killed in Vietnam. Along the way Billy Ray meets Elvis Presley, militant nuns, a con man, and a would-be rock and called Gravy Is Groovy.
Chapter 5.
SURF’S UP
Saturday.
Downtown Argus under a warm orange sun.
Midwest farmers' daughters crowded Walgreen's perfume counter.
Mr. Teters swept the sidewalk in front of his barber shop in a white apron.
Mayor Sullivan picked his teeth after a steak sandwich at Bunnie's Tavern.
Moss Newbury skimped on pepperoni slices at Monical's.
Mrs. Carruthers hoed her garden and shooed away her cat. Frank Palmer thought of ways to cheat on his taxes.
Eddie Venturi installed a muffler at Pete's Automotive.
Billy Franklin unloaded produce from a truck behind the IGA grocery store.
Gladys Cushing of Victor, New York, sought directions at Tip’s Food & Fuel.
Housewares clerk Tim Rieger quietly masturbated in the Kmart men's room.
Nancy Hardaway frosted a cake at Delbert's Bakery.
Billy Ray's mother folded towels in the basement laundry room.
Billy Ray's father found a crescent wrench for Mrs. Dobbs.
Billy Ray sat on a bench in front of Grant Park, tapping one foot to the Beach Boys blaring from his transistor radio, the other foot rolling back and forth a skateboard with a red stripe down the center that he painted himself. He gazed sleepily across the street in the direction of Roger Gilstrap's Texaco station, but saw only sandy, warm beaches and blue waves dotted with grinning surfers.
A red El Dorado convertible entered his line of vision and stopped smack in front of him at a red light. Behind the wheel was Margie Heinrich, blonde and tanned the color of honey, her breasts straining against a yellow tank top. Billy Ray cranked up California Girls:
“And the Northern girls with the way they kiss
they keep their boyfriends warm at night”
Margie winked and threw back her head. Her golden ponytail danced on bare freckled shoulders. She located the some station on her radio and Main Street was alive with Beach Boys. The light turned green, but Margie hesitated. She looked Billy Ray over, ever so slowly allowing a smile to form, then another wink, and then she gunned the big El Dorado down the street. Billy Ray eyed it for blocks before it turned onto Lake Argus Road.
He eased back into his bench, the sun warming his face. Billy Ray could smell salty breezes and feel the cool spray from the Santa Monica surf. He smelled coconut-scented suntan lotion oiling bronze bodies in bikinis.
Surf’s Up.
