Books by John Randall Dye

Australia and New Zealand! Where the wonderful is strange and the strange is wonderful.Considering a vacation to Australia and New Zealand? Perhaps you need to read this book first. Part travelogue, the reader will delight in the itinerary that thousands of tourists follow each year. Part cautionary tale, the reader will discover there is no such thing as a perfect vacation. One Bad Day is a humorous but informative take on the lands Down Under.One Bad Day is highly recommended for the undecided traveller. If you have a significant other who is determined to go to Australia and New Zealand, you will go unless you can make the better argument for not going. One Bad Day provides more than twenty-five excellent reasons to avoid a costly trip halfway around the world.Or maybe it won't. Both countries offer unique attractions. One Bad Day makes a strong case to visit them while you can. In Australia, the temptation to cuddle with a koala is hard to resist. In New Zealand, you may encounter the kea, a large green parrot, on the South Island and the incomparable kiwi, the national symbol, on the North Island. Encounters with either will change the way you think about birds--and life.Reader discretion is advised. One Bad Day is not suitable for those who are airplane impaired.

The year is 1969 and filled with turmoil. Yet, in the midst of all that is wrong, the first moon landing captures the world's imagination. For a moment most eyes turn heavenward in hope and wonder.But not Will's. Nothing matters more to this young man than the pursuit of the girl he loves. The only things that stand in his way are her lethally jealous boyfriend, her impending departure to college, and his own talent for self-sabotage.But these are mere details for this young man in love. If men can reach the moon, then Will can win a woman's heart. All he needs is to take the first small step.Bullfrog Moon with its cast of memorable characters is the third in a trilogy collectively known as The Jefferson Tales. As does Better To Be Vile and The Book of James, the storytelling is firmly rooted in the Southern tradition of blending just enough comedy to offset the poignancy of life.There are lessons of the heart to be learned in Bullfrog Moon. Come along with Will on his journey as he discovers what it means to become a man. There will be a few detours, some twists and turns, but in the end it is the destination that matters.

The Book of James is a celebration of life with a comedic touch and a Cajun twist. Ironically, it begins on a serious note as Jamison J. James, now an octogenarian, ponders ending the life of his best friend, Ted. There is nothing to prevent him from doing so since he has killed before.James, as he is familiarly called, is a veteran of World War II who spent most of his time during his service years as a Nazi prisoner in Stalag 17B near Krems, Austria. This is where he first knowingly takes a life by choking a guard to death. He is not a man who regrets and reasons, "…some men deserve to die ahead of schedule."He has earned a reputation as a good family man and astute businessman during his lifetime. He may have taken a few shortcuts along the way, but does it matter if you've lived to be a respectable old man? After all, a little embezzlement here and an occasional adultery there don't mean a thing if they have never come to light.James is a man of his generation. He loves baseball as played by the New York Yankees and the orchestral music of the Big Band Era, especially that of Glenn Miller. He is an accomplished dancer and uses his talent to good advantage in his younger days with the women in his life.The Book of James begins in the northern, far tamer part of Louisiana before expanding to its fun-loving south. The settings shift and the memorable characters reflect the spirit of the Cajun and Creole cultures where the rallying cry is "Laissez les bon temps rouler!" It's translated as "Let the good times roll!"And roll they will. Expect visits to entertaining and uniquely Louisiana places-a bordello in the New Orleans French Quarter, an impromptu concert on a front porch in Cajun country, and a sporting event where the main attraction is the odd assortment of crazed fans.The Book of James takes the reader to some unexpected places but the journey is meant to be fun and enlightening. It is the literary equivalent of a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma. There are secrets to be revealed but they may be more of the human heart than physical things hidden behind a clever cover.The Book of James is a unique work and is best read under the conditions that it was authored. Glenn Miller's tunes should be playing in the background. The chapter headings are all songs Glenn Miller recorded. Please use it as a guide but include "Little Brown Jug", "Tuxedo Junction," and "A String of Pearls."The Book of James is the second in a trilogy of works and is appropriate for most readers. The first novel, Better To Be Vile, is recommended only for those who understand the meaning of Shakespeare's Sonnet 121.The author, John Dye, practiced pharmacy for thirty-five years until he got it right and retired.

Better to Be Vile opens in New Orleans immediately following its destruction by Hurricane Katrina. This is no time to be singing the blues. No, this is the time to be taking them. With the help of his beloved blue hydrocodone tablets, the narrator floats above troubled waters. If only he could rid himself of Elvis... Life has not been kind to our protagonist. Five wives come and five wives go. His family members, for the most part, are happily estranged. His one joy in life is the refuge of the Tunica Tavern in his hometown. When his sister calls from Texas demanding he return their mother to her apartment in New Orleans, he agrees, not knowing his mother suffers from dementia. He reluctantly assumes a caretaker's role and learns to tolerate life in New Orleans. His mother's mental state deteriorates, and her plea to be taken to Graceland, the home of Elvis Presley in Memphis, is a constant refrain. Other than New Orleans, that's the last place the narrator wants to be. He hates all things Elvis. He has his reasons. Better to Be Vile is an unforgettable, highly entertaining portrait of a man struggling to put his chaotic life in order. By novel's end, our narrator finds a measure of peace in his new surroundings-an old antebellum home with a view of the Mississippi River. There is evidence he may have acquired some understanding of life, perhaps even a pilgrimage toward grace by way of Graceland.