Hollow Heart

A new novella was published yesterday called Hollow Heart

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It is by tdt.org member Ben Eads.

https://beneadsfiction.com/

https://www.amazon.com/Hollow-Heart-...dp/1646693132/

Welcome to Shady Hills, Florida, where death is the beginning and pain is the only true Art…

Harold Stoe was a proud Marine until an insurgent’s bullet relegated him to a wheelchair. Now the only things he’s proud of are quitting alcohol and raising his sixteen-year-old son, Dale.

But there is an infernal rhythm, beating like a diseased heart from the hollow behind his home. An aberration known as The Architect has finished his masterpiece: A god which slumbers beneath the hollow, hell-bent on changing the world into its own image.

As the body count rises and the neighborhood residents change into mindless, shambling horrors, Harold and his former lover, Mary, begin their harrowing journey into the world within the hollow. If they fail, the hollow will expand to infinity. Every living being will be stripped of flesh and muscle, their nerves wrapped tightly around ribcages, so The Architect can play his sick music through them loud enough to swallow what gives them life: The last vestiges of a dying star.

Interview with the author

Interview with the author:

What makes this Horror novella so special?

Ben Eads: It's is full of characters that have taken the path less traveled, and face a harsh, believable world filled with fantastical elements which stretch readers’ imaginations. I wanted the horrors the characters face to do more than just scare. This story will force readers to see themselves in a mirror, relying on their subconscious fears. It also asks brave questions like: Can the cycle of physical and emotional abuse be stopped and healed? Can anyone live in peace after facing the horrors of war? Are we doomed to repeat the past? Is there really division, and can we unite on a common goal?

The main antagonist, The Architect, is justified in creating a god that will re-shape the world to its whims. Whims that are all too real. This one really pulls at your heart-strings. It’s like The Twilight Zone, Clive Barker, and Neil Gaiman all mixed together, to form one singular voice and experience that’s unique. There’s a lot of heart in this one.

Tell us more about Harold Stoe.

Ben Eads: Harold Stoe is a Veteran of the war in Iraq. After securing a village, he gives the OK for his fellow soldiers to move on, only to have an insurgent ambush them and kill two of his friends. One of those bullets hit Harold’s spine, which has relegated him to a wheelchair. Once he came home, the only comfort he found was in alcohol, not his family. Now, Harold lives not day to day, but minute by minute, due to PTSD, his divorce, and the struggle to have his son love him for who he is.

Once the being known as The Architect places the neighborhood on lockdown, turns the citizens into their true selves, and begins to awaken a god he’s created, Harold must reconcile all of these and more if he and his former lover, Mary, are to save humanity from this god re-shaping the world into its own vision. It’s a harrowing journey that delves into the darkest secrets in one’s heart, and the lengths we’ll go to for love.

Why should readers give your work a try?

Ben Eads: It takes the best elements of horror and fantastical fiction to create a unique experience that will stretch readers’ imaginations. But readers must be brave. It forces them to look in the mirror. This is a harrowing journey into the heart of darkness itself. Darkness from within, and from the outside. It starts at 100 MPH and never lets up, delving further and further into a world that is all too familiar, and a world within the hollow that can only exist due to our failures as human beings.

Since these characters have taken the paths less traveled, their yearning for redemption is paid for in blood. But there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Buckle your seatbelts, folks.

I intentionally placed this in Calvin's Corner so most members would see it.

Thank you so much, Brian! I deeply appreciate your support! =)

For those on the fence, here are the blurbs:

"Like the warped demonic lovechild of Clive Barker and Chuck Palahniuk, Ben Eads' work is not for the faint of heart...or stomach." --Kealan Patrick Burke, Bram Stoker Award-winning author of Kin and Sour Candy.

"Ben Eads is a fearless writer, so be prepared. His horror is not for the faint of heart, rather his readers must be equally fearless to face the truth that hides in the dark heart of his work." --Fran Friel, Two-Time Bram Stoker Award Finalist.

"In 2015, I reviewed Ben Eads' very fine novella, Cracked Sky. Among other things, I said the writing was first rate, and to underline twice Ben's name, put it on the fridge to remind you to look for his byline. I repeat, Hollow Heart is also a very good read, the writing is again 1st rate, the story compelling, only this time, underline his name three times on the fridge to remind you to search out and read everything he writes. Highly recommended." --Gene O'Neill, The White Plague Chronicles and A Stick of Doublemint.

"With his latest offering, Hollow Heart, Ben Eads has not only penned an absorbing and deeply unsettling novella that adds to his already impressive and growing body of work, but one that further cements his position as a skilled author on the rise, and deservedly so."--Greg F. Gifune

I’m intrigued!

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Originally Posted by Patrick

I’m intrigued!

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Thanks! =)

Very cool, congratulations!


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Originally Posted by vincent

Very cool, congratulations!


Verzonden vanaf mijn iPhone met Tapatalk

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Thanks, Vincent! =)

Is on my read list now

Congrats Ben!
I picked up the kindle version.
I think this sold me:

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Every living being will be stripped of flesh and muscle, their nerves wrapped tightly around ribcages

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edit: I read the prologue. Great intro that has me intrigued.

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Originally Posted by Garrell

Is on my read list now

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I really hope you enjoy it! And thank you so much!

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Originally Posted by sullichin

Congrats Ben!
I picked up the kindle version.
I think this sold me:

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Every living being will be stripped of flesh and muscle, their nerves wrapped tightly around ribcages

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edit: I read the prologue. Great intro that has me intrigued.

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Thanks! =)

Thank you so much for your support! It's deeply appreciated.

I really hope you enjoy the read.

Congrats!!

Congrats man... That's a cool cover, too..

Crystal Lake Publishing + endorsements from Gene O'Neill & Burke & Gifune = another sale.

I'm finishing up Full Throttle and then you're up. Looking forward to it.

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Originally Posted by Ari_Racing

Congrats!!

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Thanks, Ari! =)

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Originally Posted by peripheral

Congrats man... That's a cool cover, too..

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Thanks! Ben Baldwin did the cover and he is an amazing artist. =)

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Originally Posted by WeDealInLead

Crystal Lake Publishing + endorsements from Gene O'Neill & Burke & Gifune = another sale.

I'm finishing up Full Throttle and then you're up. Looking forward to it.

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Thank you so much for buying a copy! I deeply appreciate it.

I sincerely hope you enjoy reading it. =)

Just ordered my copy:smile:

That cover is SICK!!!!

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Originally Posted by Garrell

Just ordered my copy:smile:

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Thank you so much, Garrell!

I really hope you enjoy it!

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Originally Posted by webstar1000

That cover is SICK!!!!

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Thanks! Ben Baldwin is the coolest artist I've ever worked with. I think he out-did himself with this one.

Finished it last night. It was a delightfully demented novella that moved so fast I thought I was on speed while reading it. I don't know how to properly describe it but from time to time I found myself "lost" from one sentence to the next...I had to go back and reread a passage to find out where I was again which heightened the dementedness of the whole thing.

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Originally Posted by Aremag

Finished it last night. It was a delightfully demented novella that moved so fast I thought I was on speed while reading it. I don't know how to properly describe it but from time to time I found myself "lost" from one sentence to the next...I had to go back and reread a passage to find out where I was again which heightened the dementedness of the whole thing.

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Thank you so much for the kind words, Aremag! Very happy you enjoyed it. =)