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The Deceivers

THE DECEIVERS Mel Keegan
285pp, 6" x 9"
Cover by Jade
Published by DreamCraft,
printed & bound in the UK and EU.
Paperback via Amazon.com or Lulu.com;
Hardcover only via Lulu.com;
Buy direct only from Lulu.com;
Ebooks from Kindle, Smashwords, DreamCraft;
$18.50 (buy direct)
$22.50 (Amazon paperback)
$32.50 (Lulu hardcover)
$9.95 (eBook: many formats, see below)
 
Read the first 10% of this novel online!
Any "content warning" to readers? Murder,'chiller' material, realistic violence, frank description of same-gender relationships. (See our Caveat.)

(Caveat: sample readings offered here encompass about the first 10% of the book, and are uncensored, unabridged. If you're disturbed by candid descriptions of same-gender romance, or by realistic violence, please don't download! Samples are not intended for younger readers. By clicking to open the PDF, you agree that you are of age in your local jurisdiction; you know what you are about to read; and the material won't disturb you: 'nuff said.)

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COVER NOTES
Mel Keegan is back at sea in the days of tall ships and high adventure ...

It is an age when sail and steam are technologies in collision, and the thousand-year tradition of the tall ships is coming to an end. Men like Bill Ryan and Jim Hale are caught in the jaws of change, in a world where survival depends on raw courage, strength and a willingness to take terrible risks

1862, on the east coast of England: the railway is the death knell of the coastal shipping trade, and many small lines like Eastcoast Packet won’t survive. Jim Hale is about to inherit Eastcoast and the schooner Spindrift ... if he and Captain Bill Ryan can first survive the explosive violence of the North Sea storms, and the vicious schemes of the shipwrecker, Nathan Kerr. Always a dangerous man, Kerr has a score to settle with Jim – and with Ryan, who has allied himself to Eastcoast. For men who have the courage to be lovers in this time, and this place, the struggle is dire, the rewards astonishing.
Meticulously researched, fabulously detailed, THE DECEIVERS will be treasured by any reader who loved FORTUNES OF WAR.

Mel Keegan comments on THE DECEIVERS

Here is a novel which languished in the desk drawer for FOURTEEN YEARS! The first version was done around the same time I was signing the original contract with GMP (about 1989), and (!) at the time it wasn't gay novel at all. I had fantasies back then about forging a career in mass-market novels, and I took a word of advice from Herman Melville. Probably writing of Moby Dick (though, don't quote me on that!), Melville said words along the lines of, "If you want to write a great novel, first choose a great subject." THE DECEIVERS is a tremendous subject which has, at least as far as I'm aware, been utterly neglected by writers and film makers alike. Look at the backgrounding on this story! Steam power and sailing ships are going head-to-head, trying to conquer the ocean; the Suez Canal is being dug in this decade; the great China clippers (Cutty Sark, to name just one, and the best known of all) will be built in the next few years; England has been criss-crossed by railways, and America is at war, while they're still trying to drive the rails across a whole continent. Meanwhile, the massive steamships, such as the Great Britain and the Leviathan, are cutting swathes through the Atlantic, trying to blow the doors off the whole seagoing tradition, and at the same time destroy the shipping lines which own, and run, the 'great ladies of sail.' That's just the background ... the reality is, *the people* are the life's blood of any novel, and in this book, the characters are fighting to survive on the cusp where one era ends and another begins. I think it's a tremendous subject for a novel, and I can't believe it's been neglected by print- and film-entertainment for so long.

READERS' REVIEWS:

THE DECEIVERS
REVIEWED BY 'H'.
Just wanted to let you know how much I enjoyed the Deceivers. The level of detail for the period & for the sailing / boats made it very real. A fast plot helped to immerse you in the story. So basically another very enjoyable read from Mel Keegan. I also liked the way it is left open for a sequel - any plans?

THE DECEIVERS
REVIEWED BY TOSHUA

Just finished it. Great read. Held my interest all the way through. Wonderful visuals and great descriptions of life on the ocean. Made me want to get back on the water again. Liked the characters. So, when's the one where they're sailing Spindrift across the Atlantic? [It's always in the back of MK's mind, but the must-do list is loooong ahead of it. Patience is a virtue! -ED]


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