
Starting today (April 27) through to (April 30) you can download a free kindle copy of Vinyl Tiger Vol.1: the 80s via Amazon.
How often do you get the chance to download a decade for free?
In writing the book, I looked to artists like Bowie, Michael Jackson, Prince and Madonna for some of my principal inspiration.
Growing up, and heading into adulthood, their music and effect on culture mostly stood the test of time in my mind. Of course I had no idea we would lose another two of those acts just months after I released my novel.
Since we lost Bowie and Prince there's been a lot of talk about their musical genius and about the way they bent ideas of gender to suit themselves (both organically and we can also say, calculatedly as well).
But they were really both anomalies. They were sheer, musical geniuses that sometimes struggled to fit into the commercial music scene, even if they reached and defined its heights.
I was more interested in the more common variety pop acts that made it onto the scene. The bleached blond singers who had a hook or two, a look and a lot of luck. And there were dozens of them in any country at any time.
My main character is one of them and he spends his eighties riding the waves of synths and music videos, while also commanding and weathering the storms of personal and professional turmoil. Because ambition, especially in the eighties, was a frightening thing.
And, he just happens to be queer. Because in addition to having bleached blond hair, being a gender bender or queer was one of the greatest attributes that a male pop star could have in the eighties. But only if they could handle the label and the pressure that came with.
Thanks to the teams at #awesomegang #askdavid #ebookasaurus #ebooklister #igniteyourbook and #itswritenow for including Vol.1: the 80s in their listings today.