E-book word count: 7,749 words (49 pages)
Blurb: ‘John Lennon’ is the main narrator of this comedic radio theater piece with musical interludes. He is joined by ‘John Cleese’, ‘Cheech Marin’ and other smartasses. Together they relate the Python Era tale, which goes like this:
A space traveler named 3X crashes to earth in ’65. It’s the start of the hippie era. He promptly gets arrested but manages to integrate into humanity! He surprisingly conquers the world of rich art snobs. 3X rises from rags to riches, devolving into a young Dice Clay along the way! But the Totally High Commander of his home planet demands the return of 3X’s ship, dispatching a warrior female to bring it back from Earth! Oh, and there’s a couple of murders along the way, too…
****************************************
Book sample (p.20):
HARRY, the lisping Californian:
After multiple doses… I mean, after further exposure to the alien’s trippy artwork, Nadia’s friends pause.
MR. BILL:
(Pompously) To reconsider the, um, cultural impact of his decorating abilities.
HARRY:
They start to flip flop, flip FLOP. Maybe the boy wasn’t a loser after all? FLIP FLOP! One of the harpies suddenly SHOUTS out that this decor is not laughable, it is in fact WOW! It’s all like, wonderfully NOW! He’s an artistic genius!! Oh my GAWD!!!
JOHN CLEESE:
Soon it’s all gossip, gossip, gossip. How it races around the town. (MR. BILL runs amok.) Suddenly, and to her surprise, Nadia acquires many new sheep.
MR. BILL (with slowly fading smile):
New friends, famous friends, hip friends…(Grinding to a standstill) phony friends… Sheeple? Ew! (Looking around with disdain) Ba-a-a-a humbug.
JOHN CLEESE:
All these annoying sheep start crowding her. Creeping around her property. Getting most obsessive about her missing alien.
HARRY:
So. Where did the alien come from, Nadia? Nadia, where did he go? Where is he living now, Nadia? Nadia, Nadia, Nadia, like, how much does he charge to decorate per room, Nadia? (MR. BILL mimes getting squeezed into a box.)
NADIA:
Enough! (MR. BILL mimes exploding out of the ‘box’.)
NADIA:
Finally, Nadia warns them all to BACK OFF! (MR. BILL bares his teeth.) Truth be told, she does not have any idea where Mr. 3X has gone. Although she has an eenkling, because –mon dieu!- one of her Rolls Royces ees meessing.
e-book pdf “THE PYTHON ERA”: $2.99
Tamsen writes his characters with a love and humor that make them all the richer and more accessible to us. If these characters entertain it is because of our own familiarity with them. The anachronistic language and setting serve as a useful parallel, perhaps, that we are the aliens to our own nostalgic yesterdays. And what if our past verve and passion could find it’s way into our current laissez-faire existence today? Could we solve our current problems? Or even more subtly: can we be funny without being insulting, bemuse without bemoaning? For the uninitiated, the plot may seem a tad convoluted. But fans of British humor and fast-paced throw away lines will appreciate!