Roy Vaughan writes a thrill-ride of a novel,
The Mereleigh Record Club Tour of
New Zealand, which takes an unlikely group of British
rock-n-roll baby boomers and puts them smack dab in the middle of an
international drug-smuggling operation.
Rick Foster is a middle-aged guy who
enjoys his life and his profession as tour guide and owner of a New
Zealand travel company. A craving to bring back the good old days
has Foster contact a group of Thames Valley, England friends from
his heyday in the 60s. Known as the Mereleigh Record Club, these
interesting and very active 60-somethings agree to meet and take a
tour together.
But things go drastically wrong when
they become unwilling targets of an international, dangerous drug
smuggling gang. Herewini Macdonald, a bold young New Zealand
customs agent fast tracked for promotion, persuades the group to
become part of a sting operation, but things get out of hand when
lives are threatened. Friendships within the group are put to the
ultimate test and Foster’s put in the precarious position of
cooperating with the authorities and protecting his friends. Weird
relationships between the good guys and bad guys begin to develop,
and each is left to wonder just who their true friends are.
Vaughan
delivers a fast-paced, bold story with an unlikely hero. With adept
twists and turns, viscerally powerful narration and sharp dialogue,
The Mereleigh Record Club Tour
of New Zealand is a page-turner with punch and a
satisfying, dramatic conclusion.
Additional Information
One of Roy Vaughan's biggest life achievements was to create the World's largest Polynesian festival, ' The Pasifika Festival,' held annually at Auckland, New Zealand
He drafted the event plan In 1991 at the end of a stint working in the Pacific Islands, and called together a small group of Pacific Island leaders, at Auckland, to form an action group known as SPINDA ( the South Pacific Islands Development Association) to get his plan implemented.
The then Mayor of Auckland, Les Mills, quickly threw Auckland City's weight behind the plan, and with SPINDA acting as a consultative group for several years, PASIFIKA became a highly popular reality and has established itself as one of New Zealand's most popular and successful festivals.
In 1994 the event won the Certificate of Achievement from New Zealand Event Management and Marketing for 'The Outstanding, Achievement Award, Community Relations Catagory' '
His other achievements in staging events included 'the establishment of a New Zealand Pavilion at 'The Asia Pacific Expo- Fukuoka, Japan in 1989', and coordinating two Japan Weeks at Auckland in the late 1980s. The first Japan Week attracted 800 Japanese participants including Galloping Horse Archers and the second, 600 Japanese visitors and featured Fukuoka's Yamagasa festival Group.
