Hellbounce by Matthew W. Harrill

Today I have the phenomenal horror writer and my very good friend, Matthew W. Harrill to tell us a bit about himself and his book, Hellbounce: The ARC Chronicles Part 1. 

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Matthew W Harrill was born in Bristol in May 1976, during what was referred to in the United Kingdom as 'that long hot summer'. Growing up in the town of Yate, he lived with his parents, sister and numerous pets, attending 'The Ridge Junior School'.

At age 11, he was lucky enough to gain a place at Bristol Grammar School, a respected establishment in the city for over 450 years. Following the conclusion of his schooling, and picking up A-levels in Biology, Geography and Economics, he attended the University of Southampton where he received a 2:1 Honours Degree in Geology following three years study.

Matt has had various jobs over the years. Barkeep, labourer, cleaner, commercial motor insurer. The jobs that have become most important were the simple shop floor assistant at Tesco, since it is where he met his partner of 20 years (and wife of 11) Tricia, and the current job at Xerox where he has been implementing stock option and share plans for over a decade. The latter has allowed the bills to be paid so that he can write.

The writing began with a short story in 1999 that expanded continuously until it took on a life of its own and became 'The Focus Stone', book 1 of an Epic Fantasy series entitled 'The Tome of Law'. A second book, 'The Path of Dreams' was completed and released, and then for various reasons, came a break in writing with the third installment 'The Pages of Consequence' only half finished (and set to remain so unless his publisher REALLY pesters him).

In February 2012, a thought hit Matt: 'What if Hell actually did freeze over?'. It was a nagging thought, more of an epiphany. He pursued this thought tenaciously, bouncing ideas off of his friend and mentor, the NY Times Bestselling author and Writers of the Future competition judge David Farland (The Runelords) until a 2 hour brainstorming session ended up with a seriously workable idea.

Ten months of research later, Hellbounce was ready to be written. A year of writing during lunch breaks and bus journeys resulted in a manuscript that was picked up by pure chance by Tabatha (Faith) Bartow of Heart Powered Publishing, and the contract was signed in November 2013. As of May 2014, the sequel 'Hellborne' has been completed, and Hellbounce was released to Amazon on May 30th 2014, with Hellborne to follow shortly. The third installment, 'Hellbeast' is in research phase.

In addition to David, Matt is always thankful to know the British author Juliet E McKenna, who has helped him countless times. He is a fan of fantasy, loving Robert Jordan's 'Wheel of Time' series. He also has a lot of time for the truly bizarre horror of H P Lovecraft, citing this as an influence on his work. He also cites the fictional author 'Hank Moody' as an influence.

Matt currently lives in the town of Chipping Sodbury, on the edge of the Cotswold Hills, with his wife and 4 children.

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Blurb

As a psychologist in a prison hospital, Eva Ross had always dealt with her share of sinners. The corrupt, the insane, their minds were all hers to unlock. But when those around her, those she trusted with her life start to exhibit the same characteristics, she is forced to turn to a stranger, a man whose name she is incapable of even remembering, for sanctuary.

Follow Eva as she crosses continents to unlock the answers, and her eventual destiny.

Excerpt

Eva woke to the sound of the television churning out early morning commercials. She sighed.

“Another morning, another hotel.” It seemed to her that since Worcester, she had lost all sense of identity. Not all of that had been because of the anonymity that radiated from Madden, but it had had an effect. With the revelations in her life, she had had no choice.

Throwing on some clothes, Eva opened the curtain and delighted in what Madden had promised would be a spectacular view. The Chattanooga National Park, dominated by the majestic Lookout Mountain lay in front of her. Forests at the base led to scrub and tree-laden slopes, with the grey behemoth dominating the middle. Even from this far away, it made Eva feel insignificant.

It was not the first time in the past few days she had felt that way. Since waking up in the shadow of Mount Rogers a few days ago, their travel had been bordered by mountains the whole way. Even when Madden had insisted they detour to stop at an old friend’s house in Knoxville, it turned out to be the grandest of mansions. Then the friend had insisted that despite Eva’s urgency, they take a trip into the Smoky Mountains. She could not avoid feeling small and out of control.

As if to remind her of what she could not control, Jeanette Gibson appeared on the screen. Eva had not seen any news in the past few days, a fact for which she was as thankful for as being free from apparently resurrected antiquities. She decided to watch.

“Welcome to a special ABC World News report. I'm Jeanette Gibson. Today's story: The ongoing unrest in North Eastern America and its wider implications across the globe.

First, a naked man has been shot and killed in Boston, Massachusetts. Harold Fronhouse, having shed all of his clothes, surprised the owner of a local bar, beat him to death with his bare hands, and was feeding on him when he was cornered by police. He was shot trying to escape the scene of the crime. Daniel Collier, his victim, was pronounced dead at the scene by coroners. Fronhouse has been linked to a series of cannibalistic attacks in the state, ranging over the past few days to his release from an asylum by this woman: Dr. Eva Ross.”

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You can read my review of Hellbounce here.

Hellbounce was also runner-up in the Halloween Book Festival 2014! Congratulations Matt! 

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Links!

We can find Matthew W. Harrill at his website

Hellbounce is available at:

Amazon

Kobo

Barnes&Noble