AUSTRALIAN AUTHOR | 'Beth Mac: Part One' by D. M. Wright & William Shakespeare
- D. M. Wright
- Jul 25, 2025
- 12 min read
Updated: May 28
 Beth Mac: Part One  Beth Mac: Part Two  Console  Dating Men: Series One  Dating Men: Series Two  Dating Men: Series Three  Nights on Hindley  Sherlock Homes: The Boscombe Billabong Mystery  The First Great Emu War of 1932  The Second Great Emu War of 1932  The Magpie  The Problem with Ralph: Chugging  Ulysses' Odyssey: Cyclops  Uncle Ian  Warlocks of Lōbethal: Class Clown  Warlocks of Lōbethal: Older  Writer, Father, Killer | TAGLINE In a college of ambition and Aussie rules, prophecies ignite a bloody path to power. LOGLINE A ruthless college football star, prophesied by eccentric 'witches' to become team captain and rise to ultimate power, embarks on a murderous rampage with her ambitious boyfriend to eliminate rivals — only to unleash escalating chaos, vengeful ghosts, and her own unravelling sanity in a bloody, darkly comedic modern retelling of Macbeth. THE OPENING >> BUY >> GENRE Primary: Dark comedy Secondary: Crime thriller, slasher-style violence, supernatural horror It's not straight horror (it's too comedic), not pure literary fiction (it's too pulpy and gory), and not traditional Shakespearean drama (it's 'Scary Movie' satire) — it's an indie, film-style novel that mashes up tragedy with farce for a wild, bloody romp. Think 'Scream' meets 'Macbeth' with an Australian Rules football twist. SETTING 'Beth Mac' is set in a contemporary, chaotic campus world, blending sorority debauchery, competitive sports, amateur theatre and escalating murders — essentially a satirical, bloody Australian twist on the Scottish castles and battlefields of Shakespeare's 'Macbeth'. BLURB Whether it's the battlefield or the football field, Beth Mac is relentless. Adored as much as she's feared, Corporal Elizabeth Mackenzie is nothing short of a full-blown enigma. Once awarded the Medal of Honour for her bold and arguably reckless efforts as a soldier, she eventually finds herself inching toward a different type of pedestal — one at Saint Judah's College. With her eyes on the prize, she's on a mission to take the captaincy, whatever the cost. And one by one her competition violently fall. Luckily, for Beth Mac, a doting boyfriend and a band of followers are far too easily manipulated for her to have to get her hands dirty. The school has its bets on the Grim Reaper being responsible. After all, that's who carried out the murderous rampage at the school just the year before. Full of all your classic sorority debauchery, Part One will take you on a journey of mysterious happenings with a down-under twist and a whole lot of slaughter. Bloody, witty and outrageously mad, it's Macbeth like you've never seen it before. Who knew football could be this deadly? REVIEWS ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ A uniquely fabulous and gruesome read I have seen Shakespeare’s Macbeth take on many forms in the arts, whether it’s television shows, theatre productions or stories, but nothing has gripped me quite as much as this uniquely gruesome rendition. In fact, I found myself thinking about the storyline and its characters constantly, even between breaks from reading! Beth Mac is such a messy and intense personality, her unpredictability kept me on my toes the entire time. A real murder mystery kind of read, I kept thinking I knew who the culprit was but got taken off track so many times! Can’t wait to read Part Two and see what outrageously clever plot twists are to come! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Couldn’t put it down This witty, modern-day twist on the real Macbeth will have you unable to put it down! Only bad thing is that I’m left waiting for part 2 to come out and can’t read it right away. CONTENT WARNING This book is Not Recommended for readers under the age of 15. It contains:
CHAPTERS When the hurley-burley’s done 1. What bloody man is that? 2. Where the Norwegian banners flowt the sky 3. That most disloyal traitor, the Thane of Cawdor 4. What he hath lost, noble Macbeth hath won 5. Like a rat without a tail 6. Two truths are told as happy prologues 7. We will establish our estate upon our eldest 8. I’ll be myself the harbinger 9. This castle has a pleasant seat 10. Screw your courage to the sticking place 11. Is this a dagger which I see before me? 12. Why did you bring these daggers from the place? 13. My hands are of your colour 14. Our safest way is to avoid the aim 15. They would make war with mankind 16. Thou hast it now 17. It was said, it should not stand in your posterity 18. To be thus is nothing 19. I wish your horses swift and sure of foot 20. We have scorched the snake, not killed it 21. So, shall I love 22. Fly, good Fleance, fly, fly, fly! 23. There’s blood upon your face 24. Are you a man? 25. Avant and quit my sight! Strange things I have in head AUTHOR'S NOTE Look, if you're picking up 'Beth Mac: Part One' (and hopefully Part Two after this blood-soaked opener), you're probably wondering why an Aussie bloke from the Adelaide Hills decided to drag Shakespeare's Macbeth out of the misty Scottish castles, slap it onto a muddy footy oval at a fictional American college, and turn it into a gore-fest horror-comedy with sorority parties, grim reapers stampeding like panicked emus, and enough pop songs to make your ears bleed. Simple answer: because someone had to. I've spent years writing all sorts — military dramas, dating disasters, emu wars (yes, really), vampire romps, and whatever else popped into my head. But Macbeth has always stuck with me. It's raw, brutal and uncomfortably honest about what ambition does to people when they stop asking "should I?" and start asking "how fast can I?" That core hasn't aged a day since 1606. So why not test it in a world that's loud, chaotic and very much alive today? I wanted to write something that felt like a late-night cult film you watch with mates: fast, funny in the darkest way possible, full of over-the-top kills, ridiculous disguises, and characters who are larger-than-life disasters. Beth isn't just Macbeth with a footy boot — she's the full package: ex-soldier, Medal of Honour winner, captain material, and utterly convinced her body count is for the greater good. The goal? To make Shakespeare accessible without dumbing it down. To prove you can take classic tragedy, crank the absurdity to eleven, add Aussie slang and AFL tackles, and still hit the same gut-punch themes: unchecked ambition, guilt that won't stay dead, the thin line between fate and choice, and how power turns even good people into monsters (or at least very messy ones). Mostly, though, I wrote it because it made me laugh while writing it — and cringe, and wince, and occasionally yell at the screen (or page) in disbelief. If it does half that for you — makes you chuckle at the carnage, question your own ruthless streak, or just enjoy a bloody good yarn — then mission accomplished. No apologies for the language, the violence, or the rock montages. This isn't highbrow lit. It's bloke-friendly chaos with a body count. THEMES 'Beth Mac' explores several core themes, drawn directly from its status as a bold, modern, darkly comedic retelling of Shakespeare's Macbeth set in a chaotic Australian college/sorority/football world. These themes are amplified through over-the-top violence, supernatural elements (ghosts, grim reapers), sorority antics, and irreverent humour. Ambition and the Corrupting Pursuit of Power The central drive is ruthless ambition: Beth's relentless quest to become team captain (and rise higher) mirrors Macbeth's throne obsession. Prophecies from eccentric 'witches' fuel her climb, showing how unchecked desire for status, control and glory leads to moral decay and destruction. Guilt, Conscience, and Psychological Unravelling Like Macbeth's haunting by Banquo's ghost and Lady Macbeth's sleepwalking, characters grapple with overwhelming guilt. Dead friends return as vengeful or comedic ghosts, tormenting the living and exposing the psychological toll of murder. Beth and Laddie's relationship fractures under regret, denial and the weight of their actions. Fate vs. Free Will (and the Role of Prophecy) The witches' predictions spark the plot, raising questions about whether characters are doomed by destiny or choose their bloody path. Everything the prophecies foretell comes true, but in twisted, self-fulfilling ways — blurring supernatural inevitability with human choice. Violence, Murder, and the Banality of Evil Graphic killings are treated with dark humour and absurdity (e.g. football tackles turning deadly, grim reaper chases, party chaos). The book satirizes how ordinary people (college students, athletes) can rationalise or commit extreme violence when ambition overrides morality. Gender, Power, and Female Ambition Beth is a fierce, Medal of Honour-winning ex-soldier turned football star—reimagining Macbeth as a dominant, manipulative leader. The story flips traditional gender roles in a female-led sports/sorority setting, exploring how women can just as easily wield (and abuse) power in male-coded spaces like competitive sports and hierarchy. Loyalty, Betrayal, and Toxic Relationships Beth and Laddie's partnership is codependent and destructive — love twisted by shared crimes, manipulation, and eventual blame. Friendships fracture as people are sacrificed for personal gain, highlighting betrayal's cost. Supernatural Horror Meets Modern Absurdity Ghosts, prophecies, and grim reapers collide with college parties, Aussie Rules footy, amateur theatre, and pop culture references. This creates a theme of the uncanny invading everyday life, where the macabre becomes farcical and the ordinary turns nightmarish. Overall, the book uses Macbeth's tragic framework to deliver a satirical, bloody commentary on ambition in contemporary youth culture — where sorority debauchery, sports rivalry, and social media-style fame can be as deadly as medieval power struggles. It's "Macbeth like you've never seen it before," blending Shakespearean tragedy with slasher-comedy excess for a wild, cautionary romp. TONE & VIBE 'Beth Mac' is wildly irreverent, darkly comedic and outrageously chaotic — a high-energy, blood-soaked romp that feels like a fever-dream mashup of Shakespearean tragedy, slasher horror and an over-the-top Aussie college party gone horribly wrong. POV Third-person limited Third-person omniscient Past tense 'Beth Mac' uses a primarily third-person limited / third-person omniscient hybrid POV, but with several distinctive narrative shifts and playful intrusions that give it a very cinematic, meta and eclectic feel. The dominant POV is third-person flexible/omniscient-ish for the bulk of the action — fast, external, multi-character and highly visual — but it's framed and occasionally interrupted by Beth's first-person voice as the unreliable, unrepentant dead narrator defending her legacy. This creates a tone that's cheeky, detached, theatrical and very self-aware, perfectly suiting the book's dark-comedy, slasher-Shakespeare mashup vibe. MAIN CHARACTER SNAPSHOTS Beth (Elizabeth Mackenzie / "Beth Mac") The ruthless, larger-than-life protagonist — a decorated ex-soldier (Medal of Honour winner) turned star player on the women's Australian Rules football team at Saint Judah's College. Fiercely ambitious, physically dominant, adored and feared in equal measure. She's manipulative, profane, unapologetically cocky and willing to eliminate anyone blocking her path to captaincy and power. She narrates parts of the story posthumously in defensive, fourth-wall-breaking rants. Think Macbeth reimagined as a brutal, charismatic footy captain with zero chill and a talent for rationalising bloodshed. Laddie Beth's devoted, long-suffering boyfriend and partner-in-crime. Loyal to a fault, often the voice of (flawed) reason or reluctant enabler. He grapples with guilt, jealousy and the emotional fallout of their shared secrets, showing cracks in his devotion as bodies pile up. Charismatic in a boyish way, but increasingly tormented — battling "demons" and torn between love and horror at what they've become. Bucket (Rosaline Bucket) Beth's bubbly, loyal friend and teammate — sweet, naive and tragically caught in the crossfire of ambition. Starts as comic relief (cheerful, cupcake-loving, party girl) but becomes a haunting presence after her brutal death. Returns as a mischievous, pathetic ghost who nibbles desserts (with chunks falling through her), sings pop songs at inopportune moments and pops in/out of walls. Her innocence contrasts the gore, amplifying the book's black humour and guilt theme. The presidents The president and vice president of the student council — two interchangeable, giggling, airheaded enablers who orbit the university with a chip on their shoulders. They provide aggressively comic deniability ("Hehehehe! Nobody’s murdered anyone!"), deflect suspicion with ditzy charm, and help cover tracks. Superficially cheerful, their underlying rage surfaces, becoming complicit in the carnage. Annie A minor but memorable side character — cheerful, oblivious partygoer type who skips out waving "Okay, I love you, bye, bye!" amid stampedes and murders. Represents the oblivious normalcy of college life clashing with the escalating horror. Bubbly innocence in the face of grim reapers and ghosts adds to the absurd tone. Brad Bucket's devoted boyfriend and Laddie's best mate — loyal, emotional and shattered by events. It's in the aftermath that his heartbreak highlights the human cost of Beth's ambition, turning personal tragedy into raw, human moments amid the farce. The grim reaper A shadowy, ever-shifting antagonist that embodies the book's chaotic slasher elements — manifesting as a cloaked figure in a white half-mask (later upgraded to a full skull) who haunts the auditorium's sub-basements, pilfers costumes and weapons, and slips seamlessly into crowds. The mask and cloak become interchangeable tools of terror, adopted by various characters (or copycats) to commit crimes amid the campus mayhem, blurring lines between prank, disguise and genuine murder. Yet beneath the farce lies one true, unknown killer — a relentless, vengeful force whose identity remains shrouded, stalking not just victims but even the main characters with prophetic dread. This duality amps up the dark comedy: a costume-department gimmick for opportunistic chaos, but a singular haunting spectre driving the supernatural horror. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS For Book Clubs:
For High Schools
ISBN 9798618008280 RELEASE YEAR 2021 SERIES INFO Grim Book 1 WORD COUNT 80,000 AVAILABLE FORMATS Original edition: Paperback, Kindle Spellbound edition: Kindle Workbench edition: Kindle BLURB >> BUY >> | |
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