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GIVEAWAY – 3 copies of Dust by Mark Thompson, set in 1960s AMERICA

31st October 2021

We are delighted to offer 3 copies of the exceptional Dust by Mark Thompson, an evocative coming of age journey across 60s America. This is one of those lovely novels that we were delighted to discover and you may not find on the booksellers’ tables.

OPEN WORLDWIDE

Dust by Mark Thompson

J.J Walsh and Tony ‘El Greco’ Papadakis are inseparable. Smoking Kents out on an abandoned cannery dock, and watching gulls sway on rusting buoys in the sea, they dream of adventure…a time when they can act as adults. The day they’ll see the mighty Pacific Ocean.

Set in small-town New Jersey in the 1960s, against the backdrop of the Vietnam war, Dust follows the boys through the dry heat of a formative summer. They face religious piety and its murderous consequences, alcohol, girls, sex, loss, tragedy and ultimately the tiny things that combine to make life what it is for the two friends – a great adventure.

But it’s a road trip through the heart of southern America with J.J.’s father that truly reveals a darker side to life – the two halves of a divided nation, where wealth, poverty and racial bigotry collide. This beautifully written debut novel would not be out of place alongside the work of Steinbeck and Philipp Meyer’s American Rust.

At turns funny, and at others heart-achingly sad, their story unfolds around the honest and frequently irreverent observations of two young people trying to grow up fast in a world that is at times confusing, and at others seen with a clarity only the young may possess.

HOW TO ENTER
  1. You need to be a member of TripFiction. Simply go to www.tripfiction.com and scroll down to the JOIN NOW tab. And we do check!
  2. America will be opening up to travellers soon. Tell us, in the COMMENTS below, where ideally you would like to visit.

Enter by midnight, 13 November 2021 and the 3 winners will be chosen at random. Open worldwide.

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Comments

  1. User: Tina Hartas

    Posted on: 17/11/2021 at 10:28 am

    Winners are:

    Jackie Donson
    clauski
    alistarric

    Comment

  2. User: Rich Tyler

    Posted on: 14/11/2021 at 1:57 am

    Texas!

    Comment

  3. User: George Wright

    Posted on: 13/11/2021 at 11:36 pm

    Nevada, my friend lives there and I haven’t been able to visit yet.

    Comment

  4. User: Katherine McDonald

    Posted on: 13/11/2021 at 11:14 pm

    New Orleans has always been on my list!

    Comment

  5. User: angiemac18

    Posted on: 13/11/2021 at 9:43 pm

    I can’t wait to visit Las Vegas again

    Comment

  6. User: Julles

    Posted on: 13/11/2021 at 5:43 pm

    I would love to visit Hawaii

    Comment

  7. User: Nick B

    Posted on: 13/11/2021 at 12:22 pm

    Would like a city break to New York with the family

    Comment

  8. User: molly57

    Posted on: 13/11/2021 at 11:52 am

    I would love to visit California

    Comment

  9. User: Sarahdo

    Posted on: 13/11/2021 at 7:49 am

    I’d love to visit the Rocky Mountains National Park, especially to see the fall colours, but it looks spectacular at any time.

    Comment

  10. User: Alison Latham

    Posted on: 12/11/2021 at 10:47 pm

    I’ve always wanted to visit Boston in the autumntime.

    Comment

  11. User: Claire D

    Posted on: 12/11/2021 at 9:33 pm

    I’d love to visit California and some of the National Parks

    Comment

  12. User: Emma Ellams

    Posted on: 12/11/2021 at 5:55 pm

    I’d love to go to San Francisco again, we have been a couple of times but am eager to go back with our daughter and explore some more!

    Comment

  13. User: aspella

    Posted on: 12/11/2021 at 4:19 pm

    I’d like to visit Alaska.

    Comment

  14. User: Pattony

    Posted on: 12/11/2021 at 3:14 pm

    I’d love to visit Virginia for the history and to take in the glorious sights of nature at it’s best

    Comment

  15. User: Patricia Avery

    Posted on: 12/11/2021 at 1:31 pm

    I’d love to visit Boston as I’m a Boston (Lincolnshire) born and bred girl!

    Comment

  16. User: galadrial

    Posted on: 12/11/2021 at 12:39 pm

    I would love to revisit New York and visit my cousin who is 92.

    Comment

  17. User: Sue Barton

    Posted on: 12/11/2021 at 11:58 am

    I would love to do a music tour of the South taking in New Orleans, Nashville and Memphis

    Comment

  18. User: Pageflicker

    Posted on: 12/11/2021 at 8:49 am

    Vegas! Would love to visit the Grand Canyon

    Comment

  19. User: Drew

    Posted on: 12/11/2021 at 12:24 am

    I would love to visit NASA !!

    Comment

  20. User: Sushka

    Posted on: 11/11/2021 at 11:26 pm

    I would love to visit New York!!

    Comment

  21. User: jt75

    Posted on: 11/11/2021 at 11:20 pm

    I would like to visit my cousin in Texas.

    Comment

  22. User: Tina8

    Posted on: 11/11/2021 at 10:47 pm

    Boston and California

    Comment

  23. User: FerrantesInferno

    Posted on: 11/11/2021 at 9:35 pm

    I lived in America for a while; it’s such a diverse place. I think I’d like to do a road trip from New Orleans to Austin TX. Although I’d really also like to go from Portland Oregon to Seattle 🙂

    Comment

  24. User: jamwig1

    Posted on: 11/11/2021 at 6:47 pm

    I’d love to visit Costa Rica next.

    Comment

  25. User: Rebecca Pick

    Posted on: 11/11/2021 at 6:32 pm

    I’d love to take my 2 children to New York. My husband & I got engaged in Central Park & I’d love to show them around.

    Comment

  26. User: Aesop58

    Posted on: 11/11/2021 at 6:11 pm

    Would love to Visit The Grand Canyon

    Comment

  27. User: Erica Hughes

    Posted on: 11/11/2021 at 4:20 pm

    San Francisco

    Comment

  28. User: Angela Kelly

    Posted on: 11/11/2021 at 4:06 pm

    I haven’t been to the USA yet, so it would have to be New York to start with.

    Comment

  29. User: alistarric

    Posted on: 11/11/2021 at 12:18 pm

    I’d like to go to the Rockies or the Black hills for the scenery

    Comment

  30. User: Holly Boyd

    Posted on: 10/11/2021 at 10:43 pm

    I’ve always wanted to go to Vegas and stay on the strip.

    Comment

  31. User: Chris Constable

    Posted on: 10/11/2021 at 6:45 pm

    I would like to travel along route 66 from Chicago to Los Angeles

    Comment

  32. User: Laura

    Posted on: 10/11/2021 at 12:25 pm

    I would love to go back to Walt Disney World

    Comment

  33. User: carol707

    Posted on: 10/11/2021 at 12:19 pm

    I would love to go to New York and do a lot of sight seeing

    Comment

  34. User: Tracey Poulter

    Posted on: 10/11/2021 at 8:34 am

    I would love to return to Bryce Canyon – so beautiful

    Comment

  35. User: Lesevans6

    Posted on: 10/11/2021 at 7:53 am

    Washington

    Comment

  36. User: krysf34

    Posted on: 10/11/2021 at 6:31 am

    I would love to visit New York or San Francisco

    Comment

  37. User: becksta75

    Posted on: 09/11/2021 at 11:47 pm

    I’d love to drive along the pacific highway from LA to San Francisco

    Comment

  38. User: Becca0706

    Posted on: 09/11/2021 at 9:43 pm

    I’d love to visit New York again!

    Comment

  39. User: Karen R

    Posted on: 09/11/2021 at 7:15 pm

    I’d love to go to San Francisco xx

    Comment

  40. User: Caroline Shepherd

    Posted on: 09/11/2021 at 10:27 am

    I’d love to visit Boston and see the New England autumn colours.

    Comment

  41. User: Sarah Parker

    Posted on: 09/11/2021 at 10:20 am

    Oregon coast

    Comment

  42. User: shane weir

    Posted on: 08/11/2021 at 10:05 pm

    Yellowstone park

    Comment

  43. User: Jenn Gillies

    Posted on: 08/11/2021 at 8:49 pm

    I would love to return to Montana. The big open sky and the wildlife, the food, the mountains, the rivers… there is nothing there not to love.

    Comment

  44. User: Joy Turner

    Posted on: 08/11/2021 at 8:35 pm

    I would love to go back to Orlando to try out the new Harry Potter rides.

    Comment

  45. User: Emma H

    Posted on: 08/11/2021 at 8:30 pm

    I’d love a ski trip to Breckenridge in Colorado.

    Comment

  46. User: Amy

    Posted on: 08/11/2021 at 8:27 pm

    miami!

    Comment

  47. User: Pin King Mouse

    Posted on: 08/11/2021 at 7:57 pm

    New York, New York. So good they named it twice.

    Comment

  48. User: Riddler

    Posted on: 08/11/2021 at 7:12 pm

    I’d like to visit Mount St Helens, was planning a visit in April 2020 but for some reason didn’t get to go

    Comment

  49. User: andyi

    Posted on: 08/11/2021 at 7:11 pm

    I would love to go to Michigan to meet up with family I have not seen for about 30 years.

    Comment

  50. User: Jennifer

    Posted on: 08/11/2021 at 6:27 pm

    would love to visit colorado- have seen it on the tv and it seems different to all the really touristy places and i would love it if it snowed

    Comment

  51. User: JuanKerr

    Posted on: 08/11/2021 at 4:36 pm

    I’d go for a cosy cabin in Maine.

    Comment

  52. User: Michelle Ptak

    Posted on: 08/11/2021 at 3:41 pm

    I would love to visit San Francisco with all it’s hill and the Golden Gate Bridge, all seems fascinating.

    Comment

  53. User: pluckypuddin

    Posted on: 08/11/2021 at 1:05 pm

    My in-laws live in Iowa and we haven’t been able to see them due to the pandemic so that would be top of the list but I would also love to visit Montana.

    Comment

  54. User: Ellis

    Posted on: 08/11/2021 at 12:23 pm

    New York for the theatre and museums

    Comment

  55. User: Marycarol

    Posted on: 08/11/2021 at 10:37 am

    I’d love to visit the Grand Canyon

    Comment

  56. User: Sarah Hamilton

    Posted on: 08/11/2021 at 10:30 am

    Minnesota to see my god daughter

    Comment

  57. User: Martha Brown

    Posted on: 08/11/2021 at 9:49 am

    I would love to visit New Orleans.

    Comment

  58. User: Alison Hartley

    Posted on: 08/11/2021 at 9:39 am

    I would love to go back to Colorado Springs, it was such a stunning place

    Comment

  59. User: Carol Greenfield

    Posted on: 08/11/2021 at 9:02 am

    San Francisco, even for a city with all the hills its easy to get around with a wheelchair.

    Comment

  60. User: Kelos

    Posted on: 08/11/2021 at 8:10 am

    Would love to see distant fanily in Georgia, and I have always wanted to experience New Orleans 🙂

    Comment

  61. User: tompob

    Posted on: 08/11/2021 at 1:51 am

    Boston would be perfect, a wonderful place

    Comment

  62. User: Heather N

    Posted on: 07/11/2021 at 11:38 pm

    One day, I’d love to visit San Diego and then take a road trip from there to Big Sur

    Comment

  63. User: Jake Casey

    Posted on: 07/11/2021 at 11:36 pm

    new york

    Comment

  64. User: Kathleen marsden

    Posted on: 07/11/2021 at 11:35 pm

    Texas

    Comment

  65. User: Denice

    Posted on: 07/11/2021 at 10:33 pm

    We are planning a trip to New York and Rhode Island

    Comment

  66. User: redfox5

    Posted on: 07/11/2021 at 8:50 pm

    Disney World! I have a cancelled 2020 trip I need to get rebooked.

    Comment

  67. User: mumliz

    Posted on: 07/11/2021 at 11:12 am

    id love to visit new york

    Comment

  68. User: clairew137

    Posted on: 06/11/2021 at 11:10 am

    Florida and the Disney theme parks.

    Comment

  69. User: Tess P

    Posted on: 05/11/2021 at 9:04 pm

    I’d love to visit the Appalachian mountains – stunning on Instagram!

    Comment

  70. User: Kim Murray

    Posted on: 05/11/2021 at 7:56 pm

    Would love to go to New Hampshire in the Fall x

    Comment

  71. User: chris2468

    Posted on: 05/11/2021 at 7:27 pm

    ideally to Fort Lauderdale to see my uncle who emigrated there 50 years ago, l would love to see him again

    Comment

  72. User: Tracy B

    Posted on: 05/11/2021 at 7:23 pm

    I’d love to do an American road trip, there’s so many places I’d like to visit, Yosemite, Yellowstone, California especially San Fransisco, New Orleans & the Deep South, Memphis, Nevada, the North Eastern States for leaf peeping, Utah, Colorado and many many more places. Think I’d need a couple of years or several road trips to visit everywhere I’d like to go

    Comment

  73. User: Plumbobmummy

    Posted on: 05/11/2021 at 1:54 pm

    I’m yet to visit America. But our plans are to visit Florida

    Comment

  74. User: CAJ

    Posted on: 04/11/2021 at 5:03 pm

    I would love to visit the North East. On my bucket list is to visit all 50 States and so far I have managed 19. I was due to visit 9 more in Autumn 2020 travelling from Washington DC to Boston using a mixture of trains and car. I would love to go back and have that holiday. The highlight was going to be staying in Kennebunkport – which is mentioned in a song in the Snoopy musical which is one of our all time favourite musicals.

    Comment

  75. User: LizK

    Posted on: 04/11/2021 at 1:24 pm

    I’ve been so many places in the US but never yet the deep south. I’d like to visit New Orleans as I think the city epitomises a spirit of regeneration and renewal, even redemption, and optimism, which we all need right now. I’d also like to learn to make a true Southern Gumbo.
    Liz Kolbeck

    Comment

  76. User: Mahesh Lakhani

    Posted on: 04/11/2021 at 9:08 am

    awesome prize

    Comment

  77. User: Judy Smith

    Posted on: 03/11/2021 at 10:35 pm

    Sounds a great read would love to win

    Comment

  78. User: Jackie donson

    Posted on: 03/11/2021 at 8:47 pm

    Maine is the place that i would love to visit after reading lot of Stephen King books i would like to see where he gets a-lot of his inspiration

    Comment

  79. User: Lynne Meredith

    Posted on: 03/11/2021 at 6:42 pm

    I would love to visit the mother of a wonderful friend (who sadly died last year)
    She lives in Atlanta, is an amazing artist and has recently celebrated her 104th (yes you read that right, 104 !) birthday.
    The last time we met I beat her at canasta, we need a rematch

    Comment

  80. User: Mandy

    Posted on: 02/11/2021 at 8:18 pm

    I fancy the Greek islands about now .. its freezing

    Comment

  81. User: Rozws

    Posted on: 02/11/2021 at 7:45 pm

    New York for me – I’ve never been and would LOVE to.

    Comment

  82. User: Yvonne (@Fiction_Books)

    Posted on: 02/11/2021 at 6:56 pm

    There are so many lovely scenic parts of the States I would love to see, however my husband worked for American companies for so many years that he has already been all over.

    So for me it is a ‘no-brainer’. We spent over 25 Christmas and New Year periods in the happiest place on earth, Disney World, Florida. So after all the Covid stresses and strains, to make one last Christmas trip back there would be the icing on the cake.

    Comment

  83. User: Debbie Hall

    Posted on: 02/11/2021 at 6:48 pm

    I’d love to go to New Orleans and New Iberia, many years of reading James Lee Burke thrillers have left me longing to see the settings he describes so lyrically for myself

    Comment

  84. User: Lynda Checkley

    Posted on: 02/11/2021 at 6:17 pm

    Love to go back to Las Vegas

    Comment

  85. User: Lisa

    Posted on: 02/11/2021 at 1:18 pm

    I have a long list of places I’d like to visit in America: New York, Los Angeles, Miami, San Francisco, Las Vegas and Chicago to name but a few!

    Comment

  86. User: lapsapchung

    Posted on: 02/11/2021 at 9:45 am

    I’d like to visit Long Island to reunite with friends who live there (and maybe sample the local cocktail too)

    Comment

  87. User: philatel

    Posted on: 31/10/2021 at 11:24 pm

    I’ve visited America but never been to New York – so that would be my first port of call.

    Comment

  88. User: bopper

    Posted on: 31/10/2021 at 6:10 pm

    the Florida Keys and other areas nearby that have various native wildlife to observe

    Comment

  89. User: Rachel Hall

    Posted on: 31/10/2021 at 6:01 pm

    Back to the nicest place I visited in a fly drive holiday which was San Diego – friendly, quaint and a bit kooky. Only spent a couple of days there so would love to spend a bit more time exploring and getting to know it.

    Comment

  90. User: Janine

    Posted on: 31/10/2021 at 5:42 pm

    I’d like to go to New England x

    Comment