Blog Tour Stop : HellBound by Su Halfwerk
Summary (from Goodreads)
One-way ticket to Hell. Bart is a greedy morgue attendant with money on his mind. He gets more than what he bargains for when he chances upon a pain-letter, one he must pass on or bear the consequences of his inaction.
Stan is a chiseler, a fake medium, preying on his unsuspecting clients’ earnings through bogus channeling sessions. When he meets mysterious Joanna Stark, he believes her promises of powers beyond his comprehension, powers blessed by the Netherworld.
Jenna gives up her old life and career to settle down as Troy’s loving wife. He is a God-fearing man who will consent only to marriage. Except fate maps a different ending to their love story, a conclusion that takes them both down and never up again.
Bart, Stan, and Jenna are destined to go on a long and abominable journey that sinks them below their expectations and forces them to endure pain and anguish beyond their worst nightmares.
On the paths leading to the depths of Hell, their sins don’t matter!
Book Excerpt
A scraping sound came from behind the small bar in the corner of the office; Stan swiveled
his head in that direction. From the corner of his eye, he caught Jo’s mocking smile.
With legs as heavy as lead, Stan marched to the bar, hoping his tough front would veil the
shiver buried deep in his being. At the bar, he placed both hands on the wooden counter
and leaned over, and into the yawning blackness of his dead aunt’s eyes. “Aunt Maude?”
She was coiled on herself and slumped behind the bar, facing him, her ancient crêpe
skin stretched with the pressure of her jutting bones. Through chattering blue lips, she
pleaded, “Do her bidding, Stan. Do it or she won’t let me rest.”
The begging quality of her voice squeezed the life out of his heart. His proud, confident
aunt was reduced to this creature? He backed away. “This is a trick. You’re playing with my
mind.” He whirled around and faced Jo, who’d shifted around until she could peer down on
the old woman as well.
“It’s no trick.” His aunt’s low whisper made him turn again to her, her anguish-inundated
gray eyes fixed on Jo. “This witch is a necromancer as well.” Her gaze shifted to him. “Have
mercy on me, Stan. Give her what she wants.”
Wetting his lips, Stan gazed down at the woman who’d raised him like her own son. He
couldn’t do this to her. Of their own accord, his hands stretched to touch her, to ease her
pain and worry. All of a sudden, she vanished. Just like that; one moment she was there,
and the next he was staring at the small rectangular carpet.
“Do you believe me now?” Jo asked in a calm tone.
He gritted his teeth so that the pain in his gums would distract him from lashing out. “Why
are you doing this?”
“I already explained that I need your services.” When he shook his head, she continued.
“I can bring your family to you, one by one. You’ll see them in different stages of
decomposition, none of them as pleasant or jubilant as you remember. I will mutate and
twist your memories.” She paused. “Dead spirits are never happy when raised.”
No shit, he thought to himself. He returned to his desk and plopped on his chair. “What
makes you think I have what it takes to resurrect you?”
“I was a witch long enough to know the necessary ingredients for a resurrection, and a
powerful warlock or witch is essential to its success.”
“Why me?” He raised a hand. “And spare me the bullshit.”
She shrugged. “It boils down to two factors. One, you’re in the spiritual business, so you will
think twice before asking any type of authority for help.” She winked at him. “Which, by the
way, won’t work. Two, you are buyable. Your conscience is on a very long hiatus, it doesn’t
twitch even when you hustle an old woman out of her only source of income, her husband’s
pension.”
Stan rolled his eyes. “I’m getting a lecture from a dead witch about the morality of my
actions.”
All of a sudden, Jo was in his face, glaring down at him. “You can be as sarcastic as you wish,
Stan, but you’ll also get initiated as a powerful warlock to resurrect me. Your other option
is endless suffering until you throw yourself off a balcony or in front of a speeding bus. And
when you die, you will be in my dominion. Think about that.”
his head in that direction. From the corner of his eye, he caught Jo’s mocking smile.
With legs as heavy as lead, Stan marched to the bar, hoping his tough front would veil the
shiver buried deep in his being. At the bar, he placed both hands on the wooden counter
and leaned over, and into the yawning blackness of his dead aunt’s eyes. “Aunt Maude?”
She was coiled on herself and slumped behind the bar, facing him, her ancient crêpe
skin stretched with the pressure of her jutting bones. Through chattering blue lips, she
pleaded, “Do her bidding, Stan. Do it or she won’t let me rest.”
The begging quality of her voice squeezed the life out of his heart. His proud, confident
aunt was reduced to this creature? He backed away. “This is a trick. You’re playing with my
mind.” He whirled around and faced Jo, who’d shifted around until she could peer down on
the old woman as well.
“It’s no trick.” His aunt’s low whisper made him turn again to her, her anguish-inundated
gray eyes fixed on Jo. “This witch is a necromancer as well.” Her gaze shifted to him. “Have
mercy on me, Stan. Give her what she wants.”
Wetting his lips, Stan gazed down at the woman who’d raised him like her own son. He
couldn’t do this to her. Of their own accord, his hands stretched to touch her, to ease her
pain and worry. All of a sudden, she vanished. Just like that; one moment she was there,
and the next he was staring at the small rectangular carpet.
“Do you believe me now?” Jo asked in a calm tone.
He gritted his teeth so that the pain in his gums would distract him from lashing out. “Why
are you doing this?”
“I already explained that I need your services.” When he shook his head, she continued.
“I can bring your family to you, one by one. You’ll see them in different stages of
decomposition, none of them as pleasant or jubilant as you remember. I will mutate and
twist your memories.” She paused. “Dead spirits are never happy when raised.”
No shit, he thought to himself. He returned to his desk and plopped on his chair. “What
makes you think I have what it takes to resurrect you?”
“I was a witch long enough to know the necessary ingredients for a resurrection, and a
powerful warlock or witch is essential to its success.”
“Why me?” He raised a hand. “And spare me the bullshit.”
She shrugged. “It boils down to two factors. One, you’re in the spiritual business, so you will
think twice before asking any type of authority for help.” She winked at him. “Which, by the
way, won’t work. Two, you are buyable. Your conscience is on a very long hiatus, it doesn’t
twitch even when you hustle an old woman out of her only source of income, her husband’s
pension.”
Stan rolled his eyes. “I’m getting a lecture from a dead witch about the morality of my
actions.”
All of a sudden, Jo was in his face, glaring down at him. “You can be as sarcastic as you wish,
Stan, but you’ll also get initiated as a powerful warlock to resurrect me. Your other option
is endless suffering until you throw yourself off a balcony or in front of a speeding bus. And
when you die, you will be in my dominion. Think about that.”
Hi guys! Today, it's my pleasure to present to you Su Halfwerk, author of Hell Bound! Su kindly agreed to do an interview for Nick's Book Blog!
Hi Su! Thanks for taking your time to drop by my blog!
Nick, thank you for the opportunity to visit your blog; I'm all set to answer your questions…let the fun begin :-)
1. In a few sentences, describe your book to us.
Hellbound is a horror novella comprised of 3 stories, each leading to Hell. The Deadening is about a morgue attendant who learns a devastating lesson about greed. Stan in The Substitute is a fake medium who discovers the powers blessed by the Netherworld aren't really a blessing. And finally, in Scorned, Jenna is a housewife who applies for her previous job when her husband scorns her. Bart, Stan, and Jenna are destined to go on a long and abominable journey that will sink them below their expectations and force them to endure pain and anguish beyond their worst nightmares.
On the paths leading to the depths of Hell, their sins don’t matter!
I was relaxing with a friend over a cup of coffee while she read the newspaper and I indulged myself in a book. She huffed and lowered the newspaper she was reading, irked by an article about alien abduction. According to her, when someone goes missing or starts acting outlandishly then it's about human nature and not aliens. People don’t just fall off the face of the earth, she said.
It's true that human nature and psyche influence most of our actions, but as an author, I had to ask myself "What if…?"
Since Hell intrigues me as a concept, the answers came from there.
3. Are any of the characters and events in the book based on you or your life?
None of the events, thank God. However, in The Deadening, Bart has a greedy habit that reminded me of an ex-boss of mine. He (my ex-boss) had the same motive for that habit but his way of displaying it wasn't like Bart's, it was still annoying though. He almost got me in trouble few times because of it.
4. How much difficulty did you face while writing the book?
I strongly believe there's a destined time for everything to take place. I sat to write Hellbound two years ago but nothing happened and I left it alone. Then out of the blue, BOOM, it was there in my head everywhere I went. Still, there are a couple of scenes in Hellbound which I struggled with because I tried to tone them down and couldn't. You can't argue with your muse, he can be a real pain at times (Yes, mine is a male.)
5. What are your future plans? Are you writing more books?
I'm working on book 2 in my paranormal romance series, Unsettled. I'm also toying around with a horror novella that’s not willing to remain short. Through all that, I'm jotting down ideas for future works.
6. What do you do when you're not in the process of writing?
I design book trailers for authors through Novel Prevue. You can watch my trailers on my Youtube Channel here: http://www.youtube.com/user/
Su, this was a really fun interview ! I love all your responses ! You seem very down to earth ! :)
I wish you best of luck in your future as a writer and thanks again for dropping by!
I wish you best of luck in your future as a writer and thanks again for dropping by!
Nick, thanks for a light-hearted and thorough interview.
You guys should really check out some of Su's books ! I hope you enjoyed the interview !
Giveaway
You guys should really check out some of Su's books ! I hope you enjoyed the interview !
Giveaway
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Author Biography
Su Halfwerk writes in the horror and paranormal romance genres. From a tender age, thewritten word left a strong impression on her, later on terrifying, blood-chilling books became
the object of her interest. Su’s style in horror combines shuddery terror with elements of
surprise; some would even call it an enigmatic twist. In the world of paranormal romance,
she transforms the desire to scare into a quest to seduce and tantalize.
Where To Find Su Halfwerk And Her Books
Great interview, very creepy cover :O
ReplyDeleteBook Enslaved
Nick, I had so much fun answering your questions. Thanks for having me over.
ReplyDelete@Book Slave, I agree...the cover is creepy (me love creepy). It showcases what one will find within Hellbound. Thanks for stopping by.
ReplyDeleteFun interview, ladies!! And I really like the premise of the book. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDelete@ Su
ReplyDeleteThanks for answering my questions so well !
I had a great time reading them :)
It was my pleasure having you on the blog !
@One Pushy Fox
Thank you Pushy :)
I hope you read it someday!
Su, really love that cover!
ReplyDelete@Toni V.S. I love it as well. It's always nice to hear from you, Toni.
ReplyDeleteFab interview, Su. How do you know your muse is male. Does he talk to you? Directly?
ReplyDeleteHello again Su,
ReplyDeleteI'm glad I'm finding you along your new book, “Hellbound” Tour. I enjoy meeting new Authors, especially when they have such an intriguing, outside-the-box read such as yours.
“Hellbound” sounds like a fascinating book. I really enjoyed your Interview & thst you shared so much with new Readers, like myself.
I really like your Cover Art, it grabs the Reader to come in for a closer LQQk, tempting them in a Dark & Dangerous way that We just can't pass by.
Thank you for taking the time to spend with Us today & offer such a generous giveaway. I would very much appreciate if I could be considered in your contest. Thank You.
Take Care Su & Much Succes With Your Tour,
PaParanormalFan (Renee')
paranormalromancefan@yahoo.com
@PaParanormalFan You're so sweet Renee'. I like meeting new readers and connecting with them as well. Thanks for stopping by and good luck :-)
ReplyDelete