Everett native Steve Doyle returned to his hometown last week to promote his recently published mystery thriller book, ‘Drag.’
And when he settled in for the event at Night Shift Brewery, he was literally right at home.
“I grew up literally 500 yards from the brewery in the heart of the Village,” he said. “Both of my parents grew up in the Village. Santilli Circle was named after my uncle…This story came from personal experience, but it’s not a biography or a monologue. It was therapeutic for me when I started, but I’ve been able now to turn it into a complete work. It has a lot of the characters from Everett and the neighborhoods and streets, too.”
The event was on Jan. 23 at Night Shift and helped to support the work of the Samaritans and suicide prevention, Doyle said. All of the proceeds from the night went to support the Samaritan’s organization of Boston and Night Shift Brewing donated a portion of their sales for the evening as well. The book-signing event was also to celebrate the launch and recently released novel.
The novel is a dark and suspenseful story depicting the sociopathic tendencies of its main character, Vincent, while highlighting the landscape of Everett, and other parts of the North Shore, including Revere. The details are sharp, the characters evoke relatable tragedy, and the story is gripping and refreshingly unpredictable, said Doyle.
An accountant by day for a non-profit in Lincoln, the Pope John High School graduate said he started writing for the therapy of it all. He had toyed with the story in ‘Drag’ for many years, but really refined it when he took on a writing partner, Sarah Adams, to help him refine it.
“Some time ago I came up with the story and played around with it for a number of years,” he said. “I recently challenged myself to complete it and was able to do it with my co-author…I had a story that was a little rusty and she was able to come in and give it depth and pulled the story together to make it a novel.”
So far, they have gotten some good attention, with the book being a top choice at the Hollihock Writers Conference in New Bedford. It was also written about in a blog by Cambridge Editors.
Writing under the pen name Domenic D. Augustus, Doyle said he was happy to return to Everett for the night – having attended the Adams School in the Village and St. Anthony’s School as well.
“There are a lot of things about Everett in the book; the LNG will certainly play a roll,” he said. “Everett was a wonderful place to grow up. Everyone knew everybody. You know where to go and not to go. There was a game to be had everywhere.”
The book is currently available on Amazon or at the authors’ site www.writtenraw.com ($5 of with coupon code drag5).