“Psst,” hisses a balding, rotund man from an alley to your right. “Oi, oi! Oi, mate! Commere fer a sec. I got somethin’ ta show yah.”
You warily stop, peek over at the man, and look back up the street. The insistent man sidles over while you are paused for a moment with indecision, and puts his hand on your arm, leaving a slight brown smudge on the tan fabric. The hand stays there, and you look at the dirty smear as he presses closer, his breath hitting you with a wash of sour pine. You flinch away from his mouth, which feels much too close to your ear.
“I’m a shop-keep, mate. Best in Hell,” he says, rummaging through a satchel at his waist with his free hand. “I ain’t gonna hurtcha. Nah, mate. Relax. I got somethin’ ta show yah.”
The sky is dimming, purple darkness spreading over the sky like blood on a linoleum floor, and the crowds walking down the dirt causeway look increasingly furtive as night descends. You pull away from the man, but he holds tight while he fumbles with his satchel and peers in, looking for something.
“Jus one minnit, mate. Alllllmmmmoooossst have ‘er,” says the man casually, while he grips your arm. “Ah. Here tis. You’ll be wantin’ ta see this’n, mate.”
The man pulls out a rectangular bundle, wrapped in cloth. He lets go of your arm to unwrap the bundle, and you inch away, looking up the street. It’s growing dimmer, and you want to be inside before dark. You see your opening, and you make a move back towards the path to home.
“Yah, mate. Itsa book. ‘Written in Hell,’” he says with a flourish, pulling out a bundle of papers, with a neatly typed cover page. You freeze and turn around.
“A book?!” you ask, amazed, snatching it out of his hand, your anxiety forgotten. “And it’s typed! How the he…oh, uh, I mean to say, how is this possible?”
“She…” he whispers, pointing up, and you both flinch as if just the mention of her could cause her to come swooping out of the skies. “…made ‘er possible. She wanted ‘er done, an, mate, well, there it is.”
You turn the book over in your hands and flip the pages, watching the neatly typed words whir by your vision.
“I never thought I would see another book down here,” you mutter, letting the last part trail off. “What is it about?”
“Some writer named Nathaniel Blovey is brought down here ta write. He called it ‘Written in Hell.’ Don’t really want me tellin’ ya too much, do yah, mate? Not if yer gonna be readin’ it…”
The man smiles knowingly at you, as you run your hands along the outside of the book. You look at the book with a stunned expression, longing plain in your eyes. He knows he has you.
The Book
Genre: urban fantasy
About Written In Hell:
Written in Hell follows writer Nathanial Blovey on his strange and perilous adventures through Hell. Nathaniel’s book, a collection of lewd tales set in the old west, failed miserably, prematurely ending his career; however, unbeknownst to him, his stories had become a huge success in Hell. The Devil decides to send him a one-way invitation to her realm, to write for her, and to keep his damned fans happy. There is only one problem: he has writer’s block. With a firm deadline imposed by the Devil herself, Nate has to find a way to keep the most terrible of bosses happy, and survive his trip through Hell. While there is no fire and brimstone, and a burgeoning civilization is growing, Hell is still a very dangerous place for a soft man like Nathaniel.Source: Info in the About Written In Hell was from the press kit from the publicity team.
Written in Hell is a creepy, fun and thought-provoking journey through Hell, with a guide who can’t help but anger people everywhere he goes. It takes you through a new and creative re-imagining of Hell.
Buy Link(s):
Meet The Author
Jason Helford has written two books: Written in Hell and From a Killer’s Mind. He’s a devoted husband and father, an avid comic book collector and an enthusiastic craft beer drinker. Prizing originality and creativity more than anything else, some of his favorite authors are Hunter S. Thompson, Chuck Palahniuk, Ray Bradbury, Terry Brooks, Margaret Weis, Tracy Hickman, Robert Asprin and Albert Camus. Please don’t be offended if you are an author and your name wasn’t mentioned, he probably likes you, too. He lives in Maryland with his wife, Bella, his daughter, Maddie, and his goofy dog, Sunset.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Due to high volume of spam I have to utilize comment moderation. Please bear with me. Thank you!