Devil On Sea

by Neal Mackie

Alan once more finds himself waking up on Brighton beach; only this time the pounding in his head hasn't come from alcohol. He's done something few have ever done, he's escaped from Hell!

Desperate to find his wife, Alan heads for the last place he’d seen her; home. However, Mary no longer lives there as she now resides in a room where the beds come with restraints. Mary, like everyone, struggles to cope with reality. Only life has reserved its nastiest of tricks just for her.

Meanwhile, Lucifer has taken a rare trip upstairs and is determined to drag Alan's sorry arse back down to Hell with him. But where to begin the look in country he despises most; Britain.

So read the book the author's own brother described as "Not as bad as I thought it would be." A dark comedy full of twists and turns, love and loss, exorcising and exercising. You're in for one Hell of a ride.

399 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 1, 2015

About the author

Born in Blackpool but mostly raised in Preston, England. Neal spent most of his youth in Leyland before a brief nine months living in Gothenburg, Sweden, where he instantly fell in love with the country and the culture. Neal currently resides in Preston; working by day and being treated with contempt by dragons by night.

Neal's first love of the written word came from the spell binding writing of Douglas Adams and the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, which he had read a number of times before leaving Primary School; although most of the humour was lost on him. Stephen King soon become a huge influence on Neal's love of literature and to date is his most read author (number of unique books read). He has also dabbled with fantasy and sci-fi, with at least one biography*, although horror and comedy are his staple.

Neal had attempted writing throughout most of his teens but never moved beyond short stories, or angsty poetry (something he still writes today*). His first attempt at a real novel, Dream Weaver, never made it to completion and he became stuck in a rut; checking over what he had already written and never writing any more. This was a blessing in disguise as it ensured future writing was only ever a march forward, never looking back until completion.

Devil on Sea become Neal's first completed novel and it was by accident that it came into being at all. Running a "Word of the day" feature on his Facebook profile, Neal tried using uncommon words and phrases in humorous sentences. Before he knew it, a short story revolving around the devil sat in a British pub being miserable (what else is there to do in one?) was born, and Chapter 2 was thrust upon the unsuspecting public. Coupled with encouragement from two secret readers, Neal was able to finally complete his first novel in only a mere two years; delayed mostly by a full time job, studying for a degree, and general laziness. After a successful Kickstarter campaign to get the book an editorial critique, Neal completed a fifth draft and, through Lulu.com, got a first edition in the arms of nearly 100 individuals who had requested a copy. Devil on Sea is now available both in ebook format and paperback @ tiny.cc/devilonsea

Neal is also currently working on writing and starring in a comedy podcast.

*Although he'll deny it