I’m supposed to be revising.
I’m not.
Why not?
Because today is a day of celebration.
What are we celebrating?
Hellbender Wednesday!
What’s that?
A book launch is as much about celebrating the author as
it is the book itself, and so rather than telling you why should consider
reading Hellbender, I’m going to make a virtual toast to Jason Jack using the
Appalachian blood that runs through my veins.
I’ll pause here for you to fill your toasting goblet with
your finest jug wine:
(and also mention that just in case you want to know a
bit about Hellbender, I’ve linked you to my Amazon review SATORAREPOTENETOPERAROTAS
and some other fun links below, just after the toast)
Let the toasting commence!
I’ve known Jason well over a decade now—we taught
together in fact—and have shared highs (mostly his), lows (mostly mine), dreams
(one of which I now find myself writing about), Halo battles (he kicks my ass),
Doritios Locos Tacos (resulting from...), copious amounts of Jamieson (which
kicks both our asses), while his brilliant and foxy wife Heidi rides shotgun
and forgives us all of our sins (read: “Tricky, why are there Cheerios and
Woodchuck Cider caps all over my living room floor?”)
To say that we’ve done it all is clearly obnoxious and a
little conceited, but it’s also a little bit true. You see Jason and Heidi and I have been on a
journey together for a long time. A
journey that has very much shaped us into the people we are today. Back when I was teaching, I didn’t have a lot
of direction in my life, especially not my career. Teaching was rough, I’d spend my spare time
writing poetry or a short story and think about how writing for a living would
make my life better. That I could show
the world that I was the next Stephen King or Dean Koontz. That I was more interesting than my, then,
completely unstylish self portrayed. But
let’s face it, I was going nowhere.
And then by luck, one Saturday as I finished up
administering the SATs, I bumped into two fellow teachers—a young married
couple—who I worked with but until then never really spoke to, Jason and
Heidi. If you’ve met any of us, you know
that conversation invariably turns to reading and then writing, and that
conversation was no different.
For me, that’s where the journey began.
They say getting there’s half the fun, and for me at
least, getting to share those “horrible” early drafts, to attending Seton
Hill’s Writing Popular Fiction graduate program, to those early rejection letters--those
frequent rejection letters--to those first successes, to getting to take time today
to say, “Wow, man your first novel.
You’ve made it. Woot!”--getting to do all of those things with Jason around
is what truly made the journey righteous.
So what comes next?
A writing career is one of those things unique to the individual. That unknown can be a scary thought. But today is not about unknowns and
what-ifs. It is about what-dids. If
that’s not a word, then it should be. It
is a high-five, it is a well deserved pat on the back; it is as I said at the
beginning, a toast. . .
. . .Now is the time.
Please raise your glasses. . .
. . .to a friend, a brother, not of blood, but a brother
nonetheless, whose writing career has formed into a bright beacon from the
amorphous nebula where all writing begins.
Jason, you’re a truly talented writer who’s busted his butt to be where
he is. Savor this moment and all of your
successes. Many more lie ahead. I know this, not because I’m magic and Tricky
like that, but rather because like the great Harry Stamper, you don’t know how
to fail.
Cheers!
-Mike
My Amazon review of Hellbender (excerpt):
SATORAREPOTENETOPERAROTAS
Whew, now while the devil is preoccupied with figuring
out what the heck that subject line's all about, let me introduce you to Jason
Jack Miller's killer novel Hellbender, and why if you only have time to read
one book this year, it should be from the Murder Ballads and Whiskey series,
specifically Hellbender which hints at what Miller and his writing is all
about.
The reason for such a bold opening statement rises from the fact that are so
many things worth saying about Hellbender that finding where to begin. . . well
the beginning, let's start there.
A funeral.
OR
If you just want my conclusion:
The key to Hellbender's success lies in Miller's
carefully chosen word choice and poetic style. He flawlessly segues between
lyrical and staccato, using both power chords and nuance, matching style with
the requirements of each scene. Even when the plot is its grittiest, the words
glimmer. This type of literary prowess continues to grow within the horror
field. Novels like Hellbender and serials like Murder Ballads and Whiskey will
bring a new heyday to the genre.
