"You have all been chosen for a reason."These were the words the publisher at Books of the Dead Press told me and a group of writers who were signed to a book contract this summer. It felt straight out of a scene of "The Usual Suspects." I looked around the room for Keyser Söze, but none to be found. Just a bunch of writer dudes, and one writer duddette standing there quietly. I imagined she was like a praying mantis, ready to kill the males when she was through with us.
Her name is Julie Hutchings, and she was chosen for many reasons:
1. An incredible writer website
2. The greatest twitter conversationalist ever @HutchingsJulie
3. A book that has shot up the charts called RUNNING HOME
The novel was on amazon for a day and was the #25 ranked dark fantasy novel before the digital link was dry. It has received tremendous reviews.
I loved reading this book. Running Home is a cool and uniquely realized vampire world. Read it for that alone. I wanted to know what happens next in the story, and was consistently pulled along, sometimes with a rush, but always with a strong flow. The supernatural is just a backdrop for some great characters. There is emotion and eros and scenes that I still remember.
But beyond the world of vampires, the novel also speaks to the suspicion all of us mortals have that there is more to us than we realize. The story brings forth that little voice who tells us we have things this world just hasn't brought out yet.
Who wouldn't want to live with a couple of vampires for a while, telling us we were meant for something more?
But in Running Home, the stakes get higher, things aren't always as they seem, and unexpected events and guests show up. The plot builds to a crescendo all the way up to the last word. I wanted to high-five the author after reading the last line, but of course, the greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist. If he did, he may just be a writer dudette and has now entered the publishing world with a new vampire novel, ready to first take over Amazon, and then the world.
