The Monster ManBy CHAD HUNTER~~~~~~~~~~~~~BLURB:
A brief summary of the Monster Man – King of Fools – Damian Malachi is a best-selling horror writer. He is also a loving husband and dedicated father. However, Malachi holds a dark secret. Twenty years ago, as a young boy, he disappeared for two days. His parents and police searched for the lost child only to have him reappear at the front door of his home with unexplainable scars, a slight amount of growth and a sense of tragedy behind his eyes. What no one knows is that in the forty-eight hour absence, Damian experienced five years in the colorless world of Sanctuary, a place much like our own world exceptthe monsters that we have seen in black-and-white movies and books are real. More than that, the monsters in Sanctuary had won. Mankind was extinct.
In Sanctuary, Malachi discovered a dark prophecy - One of the five green shards of a crystal, the Walestone, enabled him to tap into the stone's other five recipients - the lumbering Frankenstein's Monster, the savage Werewolf, the feral Swamp Creature, theenigmatic Mummy and the tyrannical Dracula. Trained by the poetic and repentant Igor and the now-vampiric Dr. Van Helsing, Malachi became the Monster Man - a chimera of all the monsters and their greatest threat. After a brief war, Damian returned home and grew up knowing that the old movies and books were not fiction but warnings. And now, two decades later, in Malachi's own world, the war with horror has begun again. Three boys have gone missing in the exact same fashion as Damian did when he was a child. Additionally, creatures have found their way into Malachi’s home, threatening his wife and son. Now, Damian must go back to the world that stole him away once and never left him the same.
Excerpt :
The Count’s eyes burned, his teeth grit and blood and drool ran from his mouth. There was a hellish fury in his eyes as he pressed down on the sword’s hilt.
The Monster Man suddenly dropped into a gust of fog. Dracula’s sword bit down into the castle flooring. Malachi reappeared at the large circular stained glass window.
The vampire looked up and hissed at the Savior of Sanctuary, perched in the window’s seal. The transformed Damian frowned.
“I…swear to you…” Dracula hissed, “You and I WILL do battle!”
Malachi nodded and his lupine eyes simmered. “Then it begins.” And he erupted into a burst of fog and shot out of the castle’s windows. Thousands of reflective triangles danced in the Sanctuary night.
Dracula, still fixated on the broken glass, reached under his billowing cape. He held up torn pages in his claws; pages that appeared to belong to the book of Van Helsing now in the possession of his long-dead enemy’s protégé.
Dracula lowered his head back and screamed into the night.
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Chad Hunter was born in East Chicago, Indiana. Raised by a single mother in the city's Harbor section, he is the youngest of four. Growing up in the Midwest and a proudly self-proclaimed "Region Rat," Hunter has written and published several books and novels. He has written for magazines and newspapers throughout North America and has been published in several languages. His writings have been called sophisticated yet humorous, sharp witted and unrelenting.
Most often, Hunter's writings have been considered so wide and diverse that they span a scale that would include multiple writers with multiple forms.
How To Lists from the Innerwife intimately discusses the subtle internal conversations that can greatly improve relationships.
Black Parakeets Only Hatch in December walks readers with poetic imagery through a lifetime in East Chicago, Indiana.
Finally, The Portray Protocols grip with horrific vivid detail, supernatural terror and mesmerizing intensity. If anything binds his varied styles, it is Hunter's theme of the human condition, humor and family closeness - all to the backdrop of romantic love, vibrant remembrance and even monsters themselves.
Background of the book
The background of The Monster Man – King of Fools (MM:KoF) came from a moment in real life when my wife and I were trying to get our son to go to sleep. He repeatedly claimed there was a monster in his room. So I scoured the closet and under the bed all just to show him nothing was there. Then I got the idea of the scene where Damian reveals himself to his son as the Monster Man. And the design of the hero was one that I had on “mental layaway” for years and finally found a place for. Together with my love of the classic monsters and the actors who portrayed them and the foundation and background for the book was laid.
Ultimately I wanted a fresh look at classic horror and the myths that gave them life. The Monster Man is as much homage to Bela Lugosi, Boris Karloff and the Chaneys in as much as it is a modernization of their works, styles and portrayals. The literary roots of Dracula, Frankenstein’s Monster and the others were major influences in the novel’s background. I wanted the ambience, the mood and the smoky gothic appeal to be present (e.g. why part of the story takes place in a world of black and white “color.”) At the same time, I wanted MM:KoF to be a fresh and original book so that is where Damian, Sanctuary and the newfound statuses of Van Helsing, Igor and others came into play. The characters fleshed themselves out from there and became not only larger than life but, more importantly, lifelike.
Advice for writers – First, define your goal as a writer - to get published, get an agent or just to finish that novel that’s been in your head forever. Then once you decide what you want, never quit until you get it. Never stop believing in whatever it is that your goal as a writer. It is going to get lonely and it is going to get dark but as long as you believe and see where you want to arrive, that’s a huge chunk of what you need.
Second, surround yourself with people who back up your dream. And these people may not be your family, your lover or anyone you might expect first. Sometimes the people who keep you lifted up are new friends, co-workers or your regular barista. Whoever they are, keep them in your inner circle. Also surround yourself with a mastermind group – a collection of people who compliment your movement. For example, maybe you can only write but illustration is not your thing – have an artist in your group. Need web work? Have a friend who has web design experience. You don’t have to have all the answers but you should know where to get them.
Last, write the story that’s burning in you. I believe every writer has that one story or stories that are afire inside of them. Write it. Don’t fight it but embrace it and let it out onto paper. There’s a saying that the first draft is written with your heart and the second is written with your mind (when you edit) so grab hold and get the story out.
Lessons I learned from my hero (heroine/villain) Damian, the hero of The Monster Man – King of Fools taught me about acceptance. In the novel, he is raised on a world of monsters by monsters and he adapts. More than adapts, he surpasses and excels. And when he has to return, it is partially begrudgingly but he is not dragged in kicking and screaming. He takes something that is clearly traumatic and life-altering and makes it a part of who he is in a positive way. Where he could have been a victim or a monster himself, Damian chooses to be a hero regardless of his station. Dracula taught me about perception. In the novel, the Lord of the Vampires sees himself as a force of a strength that is needed to run a world or, as he puts it, an abandoned experiment. You never want to go so far that you see your view as the only possible point of vision. Dracula also is a lesson in rejuvenation as he is inspired by the concept of an enemy as worthy as Damian. It lights something up in the undead warlord and he embraces that challenge where most people run from adversity.
My take on critique groups – I think critique groups are a huge benefit. I honed a lot of skill from being a part of a local writing and critique group. However, if a group or an individual only critiques without examining what’s right, if a group is venomous or if only tears down one’s efforts, then the group is a negative step for a writer. True and solid critique groups, in my opinion, must focus on building better writers not shattering beginning ones.
One of my own writing quirks – I love to have a muse when I’m writing. For example, while writing The Monster Man – King of Fools, I had classic horror movie action figures by the laptop. While working on Black Parakeets Only Hatch in December, I had items that reminded me of growing up in East Chicago, Indiana (e.g. old yearbooks, vintage photos of the city, etc.) A muse allows me to shift my mindset to one more conducive with whatever I’m writing. They inspire, they push the current environment aside and give me the mindspace and ambience I need to write. When it’s time to write Halloween pieces, I have a Pez Jack O’ Lantern that gets brought out and set down next to the mouse pad. I’m in the Fall mood of Halloween even if it’s smack dab in July. I also have a type of insomnia and that has been the most beneficial quirk for my writing ever!
As an author, what scares me the most – I think losing control of my work. Losing control of the process and slipping into some giant process where I’m too focused on possibly marketing or web designing while not being able to write. I read about a lot of writers, especially artists, who develop characters in comic books only to have that character remain at the company while they leave. That would be horrible. Like someone else raising your child.
The hardest part about writing is…Keeping up with your imagination despite the physical limitations of writing. Basically, you have to sleep. You have to eat. You get tired but your mind and the story still races inside. That’s tough. It’s like trying to force an ocean through a straw. I have several small journal books that I jot down in all day. As ideas or story shifts pop into my mind, I write them down as soon as possible. That way, I don’t have to attempt to remember them all day, I don’t overwhelm myself when I’m tired and trying to regurgitate my day’s ideas and I fulfill that creative void that wants instantaneous attention and gratification.
$20 Amazon GC – random commenter
$20 Amazon GC – random host
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