Meet Mark and Sheri Dursin, authors of Labors of an Epic Punk with Giveaway

Welcome to the Name Before the Masses tour for Labors of an Epic Punk by Mark and Sheri Dursin. They took some time out of their busy schedule to tell us more about their newest book. There's also an excerpt for you to check out before you download your copy. And a giveaway at the end. Please follow the rest of the tour for even more interviews, guest posts, and excerpts. Remember to leave comments and questions for the authors along the way!

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What was the inspiration behind this book?

SHERI: The initial seed of inspiration was planted eight years ago in a Rainforest Café. I was having lunch one day and on the way to the restroom I saw a cool sculpture of Atlas holding up the world. Intrigued (if not a little confused) by the connection between an ancient Greek Titan and a rainforest-themed restaurant, I began thinking about all the great tales from mythology. As I waited in line at the bathroom, I ran through my favorites: Midas and his golden touch. Medusa and her wild and deadly hair. Icarus and his wax wings flying too close to the sun.

MARK: Later on that night, Sheri and I took turns sharing our favorite myths and we came to the conclusion that some of the most interesting, most enduring, and frankly most bizarre stories can be found in mythology. And then the idea hit. What if we wrote our own story based on some of these mythological characters? Could we do it? Lots of other authors had done this with success. It was an exciting challenge, and kind of humbling, to take these myths that were originally told and recited thousands of years ago, and do something new with them...but not the same “something new” that was already being done.

Which character was your favorite to write?

MARK: I have to say Homer. We decided to make our version of Homer a gay, physically disabled teen, who is obsessed with heroes, mostly because he feels he can never be one himself. Our Homer is socially awkward and doesn’t have a ton of friends—but he really wants to make connections with people. I like Homer because he’s insecure, even though he tries to put on this false bravado to mask it. He’s a bit of a know-it-all, but he’s also very funny.

SHERI: Writing for our main character, Mac, was always a fun challenge. We have teenage sons and it was important to us that Mac reflect a different type of masculinity then the typical daring, assertive, often stoic examples of young men found in lots of YA literature. One of the goals of our story was to show that there are lots of different ways to be a hero.

What was one of your favorite scenes?

SHERI: Without giving too much away...there’s a chapter in our book that takes place at a school dance. We use a slightly different structure for this chapter, switching off points of view among the different characters as we see what they’re up to at the dance. We hope it gives the reader a feeling of being “in” on the drama as it’s unfolding.

MARK: We have a series of scenes where Mac and his roommate Theo go on a mini-adventure, just the two of them. And we set up this dynamic where Mac is being kind of a grump and Theo is being his typical fun-loving self. It’s one of the first bonding moments between the two: Theo is trying to counsel Mac about his love-life, and Mac actually opens up a little. And they laugh, a lot; in fact, it might be the first time in the book Mac truly laughs. I just like what we did there with those two characters at that point in the narrative.

Will we see these characters again?

MARK AND SHERI: We’ve already begun work on a sequel! There’s a new adventure in store for our five main characters based on some mysteries and clues we’ve planted in Labors of an Epic Punk. The adventure in book two will involve the search for Andie’s father and we’ll introduce some quirky new characters (and some dangerous ones!) And we promise some romance is in store for Homer!

Why should we read your book?

MARK: Because it’s just a fun story that is unabashedly optimistic. Also, you don’t need a background in mythology to enjoy this book. There’s something to enjoy If you’re a fan of Percy Jackson novels, John Hughes movies, or any good coming of age story. We describe our book as Clash of the Titans meets The Breakfast Club. 

SHERI: If you ever felt like you were alone in the challenges you faced, like you didn’t fit in or you weren’t...enough, you’ll find a lot to relate to in this book. This ultimately is a story about redemption, about a character who transforms because of the people he meets.

What are you currently reading? Up next on your TBR?

SHERI: I’m just about to start The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller.

MARK: Last summer, I started to read Neil Gaiman’s American Gods. And I got through a good chunk of it—then September came, And here’s a secret about high school English teachers: we read so much during the school year for our jobs, we don’t have much time to read for pleasure. (At least, I don’t.) So I’m going to get back into American Gods.

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Labors of an Epic Punk

Mac is an epic punk. No wonder: after his dad went off to fight in the Trojan War and never came back, Mac spent his childhood evading his mom's scumbag suitors—all one-hundred-and-eight of them. Of course, he turned out this way—a moody, friendless sixteen-year-old who blows off work, alienates everyone at school, and pulls pranks. But when he trains a flock of birds to defecate on the headmaster, Mac (short for Telemachus) goes too far. The administrators give him an ultimatum: prove that he's truly the son of Odysseus by doing something heroic—or get out. A school story that just so happens to take place 3,000 years ago, Labors of an Epic Punk is a tale of friendship and transformation, regret and redemption, and a reminder to us all that even heroes need to survive adolescence.

Available on Amazon

Read an excerpt:

At that moment, Mac felt a prickling sensation as the hairs on the back of his neck suddenly stood on end. Instinctively, he shouted, “Get down!” as he threw himself and Homer into the sand. He looked up to see a single arrow buzz over their heads.

“Homer!” A voice—gruff, but unmistakably female—boomed through the courtyard. “How many times do I have to tell you? Stop following me!”

Mac looked in disbelief down at Homer, pinned underneath him. “I said I knew her,” Homer shrugged. “I didn’t say we were best friends or anything.” As they both stood up, Homer called out to their secret attacker, in a lame attempt to sound chummy, “Hey, Andie! What’s up?”

“How did you find me? Did you follow me? Did my roommate tell you? She told you, didn’t she? I’m gonna kill her!”

Homer glanced nervously at Mac before calling out, “So, what are you doing way out here?”

“Why should I tell you?” the mystery girl shouted back. Meanwhile, Mac’s eyes flew around, trying to determine the source of this shouting. As he squinted, he could make out someone, silhouetted against the sun, half-hiding at the top of one of the stone towers.

“Now, get out of here,” the voice called out. “This is my beach!”

“Well, OK, but first, how ‘bout you come on down?” Homer continued. “My friend and I want to ask you something.”

“You don’t have any friends, you freak!”

“As a matter of fact, I just made one. Come on down, I’ll introduce you.”

About Mark and Sheri Dursin

For many years Mark, a high school English teacher, and Sheri, a freelance writer and blogger, wrote independently. No matter the writing project—newspaper articles, retreat talks, college recommendation letters, fan-fiction, blog posts on spirituality or 80s pop songs—they tended to work alone. Separate rooms, separate computers. But raising their twin sons helped them discover an important truth: All Good Things Come in Twos.

Mark and Sheri Dursin will be awarding a $25 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

a Rafflecopter giveaway