About – Love Straddle
Selwyn is in love and vulnerable. He puts the girl he loves in a straddle with another girl friend, to reduce his exposure…in theory… but it all goes tragically wrong.
Prolific writer M.P. Knox has released his second novel Love Straddle – a fiction story thatcaptures the mood of the 1960s, the era of the Cold War, the youth revolution, hippies and women’s liberation. The author has created a unique, unusual hero with flaws, quirkiness and emotions he struggles to express. Selwyn is a sexual version of the asexual Sheldon character in the sitcom, ‘The Big Bang Theory’, not unlike Don Tillman in ‘The Rosie Project’ and Doc Martin in the BBC TV series. Selwyn lives by theories and over-thinking when others expect understanding, this sometimes make him appears emotionally cold; at other times charming. Readers can diagnose Selwyn’s behaviour, decades before compulsive behaviour is labelled as a mental disorder.
Selwyn is attending Liverpool University of Technology in the UK, with all the excitement of the sound of The Beatles. His plans do not include falling in love with alluring and smart biology student Vicki.
He may be an ambitious and successful engineering student, but he has much to learn about relationships. Each of the 105 chapters concludes with humour and insight in a rule he has learned, without being sexist.
Vicki is his obsession but she won’t pass on ‘free love’ the way town girl Barbara will. To be invulnerable to relationship uncertainties, Selwyn invests in non-sexist love with the two girls as a straddle in the commodity: love. Will Vicki ever forgive him for ‘selling her short’? But with each girl behaving nothing like he predicts, how can it result in anything but tragic consequences? Selwyn is literally on a cliff’s edge.
He climbs the corporate ladder and becomes the CEO of a major oil company in Canada. His compulsive love spirals down into sex addiction, then alcoholism, becoming a workaholic and a foodaholic and his relationships crumble. When a disgruntled employee exposes scandalously low oil recovery, an African government makes demands that lead to disaster. Vicki goes to help him. Will he be blamed for the catastrophe? Ultimately, when he is finally free from his work and family loyalties, will he ‘close’ his trade of Vicki’s love? His behaviour leads to the question: will he ever accept the terms of love with one woman? The ending is a surprise with a twist.
This novel is an insight into how career and partner choices can affect personal well-being. It takes the reader on an epic journey of thought and discovery. It is a story that will have you pondering long after you put the book down. See more about the book at: https://lovestraddleanovel.wordpress.com/
By the same author, a speculative fiction novel The Grass is Always Browner (Zeus Publications 2011).
LOVE STRADDLE is available from Amazon both as a paperback and as an e-copy for Kindle or from bookshops.
AMAZON USA LINK AMAZON UK LINK
When Love Straddle begins, little was known of personality disorders, obsessions, addictions or wastage of natural resources. Selwyn is attending Liverpool University of Technology in the UK, with all the excitement of the sound of The Beatles. His plans do not include falling in love with alluring and smart biology student Vicki. He may be an ambitious and successful engineering student, but his relationships with women are bizarre. Vicki is his obsession but she won’t pass on ‘free love’ the way town girl Barbara will. To be invulnerable to relationship uncertainties, Selwyn invests in non-sexist love with the two girls as a straddle in the commodity: love. Will Vicki ever forgive him for ‘selling her short’? But with each girl behaving nothing like he predicts, how can it result in anything but tragic consequences? Selwyn is on the cliff’s edge as he precariously straddles love. As he climbs the corporate ladder his relationships crumble, leading him to spiral down from his compulsive love into sex addiction, then alcoholism, becoming a workaholic and a foodaholic . He becomes the CEO of a major oil company in Canada. When a disgruntled employee exposes scandalous waste of the World’s oil, an African government makes demands that lead to a disaster. Vicki goes to help him. Will he be blamed for the catastrophe? Ultimately, when he is finally free from his work and family loyalties, will he ‘close’ his trade of Vicki’s love?
This novel is an insight into personality problems and the way we function in relationships. It takes the reader on an epic journey of thought and discovery. It is a story that will have you pondering long after you put the book down. If you would like to interview this articulate, philosophical and entertaining author, or want to receive a review copy of Love Straddle from a limited preliminary printing, contact: mpknox 00617 3255 3710 or email mpknox46@aapt.net.au See more about the book at: https://lovestraddleanovel.wordpress.com/ By the same author: The Grass is Always Browner (Zeus Publications 2011)
