Friday, July 30, 2010

HELL HOLLOW is Here!


The news is out! Cemetery Dance has begun shipping out big, fat copies of my newest novel, HELL HOLLOW.
As some of you may know, I've been waiting for HH's release for quite some time now... fifteen years, in fact, ever since Zebra originally had it on their publishing schedule back in the mid-nineties, around the time that they pulled the plug on their entire horror line. But that's all water under the bridge now. Cemetery Dance Publications has just released HELL HOLLOW in a beautiful limited hardcover edition that weighs in at a whopping 498 pages. And it boasts Alex McVey's incredible cover painting of Dr. Augustus Leech standing amid a swirl of brimstone and tortured souls. It's so striking that you can almost feel the heat of hell-flames crackling off the front cover!
HELL HOLLOW involves four kids who find themselves bored and restless during a sweltering Tennessee summer. Soon, that boredom turns into danger as they come across a shadowy place known only as Hell Hollow and its lone inhabitant, the sinister reincarnation of a traveling medicine show man named Dr. Augustus Leech, who possesses a hell-brewed elixir and a handful of cards that can bless you with your most cherished dream... or damn you with your most dreaded nightmare. Soon, Leech's intentions grow more and more evil, and revenge against the town of Harmony is foremost in his dark thoughts. It is up to the four children -- Keith, Rusty, Maggie, and Chuck -- along with a vengeful rape victim named Allison Walsh, to take the steps necessary to end Leech's reign of darkness and depravity once and for all...
You can order your copy of HELL HOLLOW now, directly from Cemetery Dance, at this link:
And while you're there, you can also pick up a copy of my short story collection, MIDNIGHT GRINDING & OTHER TWILIGHT TERRORS, still available from Cemetery Dance. It's jam-packed with 32 tales of Southern-fried horror, including the HELL HOLLOW companion story, "Grandma's Favorite Recipe". Grab yours while they're still available!
As you may have guessed, I'm pretty excited about HH's release. After all, the last novel I had published was BLOOD KIN way back in 1996. CD sent me a copy of HELL HOLLOW a few days ago and I've gotta tell you, it was a danged good feeling hefting that door-stopper of a book in my hands and savoring that wonderful new book smell drifting from its pages. Much thanks to Richard Chizmar, Brian Freeman, Mindy Jarusek, and Katherine Freeman for the care and attention they put into this tome. I couldn't be more pleased with how this project has turned out!
So, if you get bored this sweltering summer (and it has been dadgummed sweltering, hasn't it?) then you can always head down into the dark thicket and tangled kudzu of Hell Hollow, where the temperature stays several degrees cooler than the norm. But if you come across a ramshackle wagon and the bones of a skeleton in top hat and tails, you'd best consider skedaddling... before they reach out with stark, white fingers and pull you ever downward into the depths of an endless nightmare...

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