Huntington Beach, CA -- (SBWire) -- 03/24/2014 --In the 1960s, America was a country on the cusp of a new beginning.
In ‘A Greaser in Camelot’, a collection of stories set between 1960-1961, author Clem Dominguez artfully and skillfully portrays the essence of a time, without resorting to clichés. While painting the picture of a country hovering on the edge of a civil rights movement and a musical revolution, Dominguez introduces readers to a young man from Long Island – newly sixteen and embarking on a year of exhilarating adventure.
Anyone who was a teenager during that tempestuous time will remember their blissful ignorance of the age they were living in – from the rise of John F. Kennedy, to the birth of the Beatniks and the ‘60s counterculture. Teenagers drank, took drugs, lived and loved freely – with no idea of the consequences or ramifications of their actions. Clem, in particular, lived a life of electrifying disobedience – and embodied an era.
‘A Greaser in Camelot’ will thrill those who recall their wild youths, and any reader who wants to take a step back in time and experience an unusual world.
“Things were just fundamentally different in 1960,” says Dominguez. “Yet in some ways, it was the same – we’re still struggling against political injustice and social injustice, aren’t we? We had so much more freedom though – especially as teenagers. We didn’t live with the constant buzz of social media, so in a sense our lives were about living in the moment, and without scrutiny. Teenagers lived without seat belts, without the war on drugs and without so much interference from society and from parents. It was an exciting time to be young.”
Synopsis:
March 28, 1960 – A young man from Long Island, just turned sixteen and newly equipped with a 1954 Oldsmobile embarks on a year of adventures and misadventures. Fueled by his newfound freedom and excitement of his first car, he’s oblivious to the musical and political revolution the decade will soon usher in.
Right under his nose, the fight for civil rights was becoming a movement. Bob Dylan and folk music were taking over Greenwich Village, NY, the birthplace of Beatniks and '60s counterculture. And the Beatles, the group who would change music forever, put on their first live performance as a band.
1960 ushered in a transition period for the country: Kennedy was on the rise, a CIA-backed rebel group would unsuccessfully invade Cuba, and Martin Luther King would light a spark that would turn into a roaring fire in Washington D.C.
Clem and his friends were a group out to live life freely against a pervasive backdrop of uncertainty. Drinking, smoking, drugs, chasing girls, sneaking out, and brazen acts of civil disobedience were the norm among the group. Their lifestyle, music, and dress would not be understood until years later.
A collection of stories from 1960 to 1961, A Greaser In Camelot evokes the nostalgia of the era – the music, idols, controversies, and tension – and America in a turbulent time of change and uncertainty.
Since it’s publication, the book has earned glowing reviews.
“It's amazing to re-enter the world of a greaser. Clem brings you right back into that mindset, and it's West Side Story all over again. I enjoyed being appalled all over again with his descriptions of the outside shells of the 'tough guy' when our government held itself as believable. Read this book and ponder what you believe now as opposed to then, enjoy the memories, then reflect- could it really be happening this way?” wrote pseudomonas.
‘A Greaser in Camelot’ is available now: http://amzn.to/1fKmsBx
For more information about the book and its author, please visit Clem Dominguez’s official website.
About the Author: Clem Dominguez
Clem Dominguez was born in New York City in 1944. He moved to Long Island, New York, in the fifties where he spends all of his teenage years. At twenty he joined the U.S. Navy and was selected to be on the only NATO ship in Navy History. When he returned from the service he attended College and at the same time began to surf. He finished his Bachelor’s degree in Business and became a computer programmer.
In 1972 he and his new wife moved to Huntington Beach, Ca. He became interested in politics and ran for city council in 1988 to protest the city taking properties from people using eminent domain. Clem started and still maintains a computer software business specializes in software development and implementation. Clem started drinking heavily in the eighties when his father dies and it continues throughout the nineties. Today Clem lives in Huntington Beach with his family. He recently won the Legends surfing contest. His passions are family, surfing and politics.
