1980s coming of age novel "Wivenhoe Park" debuts this fall

Oct. 5, 2013 - PRLog -- Set in the mid-1980′s, Wivenhoe Park chronicles the adventures of Drew, a former track star, who has become a pill popping, dope smoking, heavy drinking, rock ‘n’ roll-obsessed student with writing aspirations. He moves to England on a whim to escape various demons, such as a goth ex-girlfriend, who he can’t seem to shake out of his system. Experiencing the ascent of a new indie music scene that includes The Smiths, Jesus and Mary Chain, and Primal Scream, he befriends a cast of characters, including a star Melody Maker journalist, a smooth mod from New York City, and several enticing British girls. Will Drew find peace, love and understanding or will it all burn down like cigarettes?

Releasing in both print and ebook from Cooperative Press Trade, October 30th, 2013


Advance praise for Wivenhoe Park:
What a fun novel with sneaky depth. BT’s own Vendetta brings back an ’80s era when a stunning, now-legendary post-punk/indie rock scene was blazing in Britain, yet this time, unlike with punk rock, a smaller slice of Americans followed its brilliance. He slyly evokes this in a coming-of-college-age story of throwing off the influence (and snares) of normal Middle American life by instead immersing himself into the thick of the NME/Melody Maker/Sounds-fed maelstrom in England itself (while seeing a bit of the continent). The scenes of hot concerts, encountering the new albums, and meeting key players such as Creation Records impresario Alan McGee are as vivid as the romantic angst of an early 20-something negotiating the love/sex conundrum and the constant worrying about identity and career—it’s all as funny as thoughtful. And I didn’t see the ending coming, either.

–Jack Rabid, The Big Takeover

Wivenhoe Park wrenched me back to a mid-80s Britain where punk was dead and alternative/goth ruled. If birds, booze and Bunnymen are your thing, as they are mine, then dust off your Sisters of Mercy LPs, squeeze into your Meat Is Murder t-shirt and enjoy the ride.

– Dave Hawes (Catherine Wheel)

If you were a post-punk kid growing up in the suburban Midwest in the ‘80s, London was your Mecca. Not all of us made the trip that decade, but now we can, thanks to Vendetta’s vivid portrayal of a young Anglophile abroad, drowning out the ache of first heartbreak in a mad dash through the British music scene. If John Hughes were still alive… well… he’d never touch this story. It’s too full of the sort of gritty realism that never made it into his well-scrubbed coming-of-age stories.

– Robert Cherry (former Editor-in-Chief, Alternative Press)

Wivenhoe Park blew me away. The writing is so good and so descriptive that I really felt like I was reliving my 20s when I read it. It’s very evocative. Wivenhoe Park brings you back to that rollercoaster ride of your early 20s. Every great new discovery — music, friends, food, drinking, the opposite sex — is like a match to dynamite. Every disappointment is the end of the world. With each experience, Drew grows just a little bit. In the end, he’s figured out who he is, what he can give to the world, and what it takes to be a great partner and friend.

– Michelle Briand, WXRV (The River)

Ben Vendetta has been writing about rock and roll for his entire adult life for a number of publications, including The Big Takeover and Skyscraper. He published Vendetta Magazine from 1995 to 2002 and was the director of publicity at Dionysus Records before co-founding independent record label, Elephant Stone Records. This is his first work of fiction.

For more information visit:

Cooperative Press Trade: http://www.cooperativetrade.com/

Elephant Stone: http://www.elephantstonerecords.com/ben-vendetta/

Ben Vendetta's Tumblr project: http://benvendetta.tumblr.com/