Carolyn Mccartney

The Good, the Sad and the Gorgeous Carolyn Mccartney 1st edition

Have you heard the one about the three Irishmen? Well, there was a gay one, an Indian one and a fat middle-aged one! Not politically correct? Neither is Northern Ireland, where our story takes place. Strangely, the answer to the joke is... Elvis and a seaside karaoke competition! Fancy finding out more? Read on. Set in the spiritual wilderness of 1980's Belfast during the hunger strikes, three redundant shipbuilders find themselves united in their love of The King and their desperation to find Dessie Lyons, the anti-hero of the piece, a renewed sense of self worth in a divided and dangerous community. As in many threatening situations, humour seems to be the main weapon used by these three misfits to defend themselves against the oddballs, gangsters and paramilitaries that people their everyday world. It's only after a win on the horses, that Dessie finds himself with enough available funds to enter the karaoke competition, where he hopes to find redemption by impersonating his beloved King of Rock and Roll. Join Dessie, Ricky and Gupta on their journey to the promised land - a little seaside town called Portrush, where Mick Jagger, Frank Sinatra and Rod Stewart all end up in the back of a paddy-wagon with them! Will Dessie win the competition and the all-important prize money, or will he fail and return home to the grinding poverty and cycle of deprivation that was everyday life for many people at the time? Read on - it's time for a little less conversation... a little more action.