Fantastical Mystery Tour: Spotlight on John Hartness

[If you missed the first post in this series, click here to see more info on James Tuck and don't forget to enter to win a copy of Blood and Bullets!]

For the second post in the Fantastical Mystery Tour series, I'd like to move the spotlight to the amazing and completely unconventional John G. Hartness. I first met John at RoundCon and I've made a point of running into him at other events because this guy is awesome. He's an unabashed redneck who writes about snarky vampires (among other things)--what's not to love? He's had a rather unusual path to publication and considers himself a hybrid writer as he both self-publishes and traditionally publishes his work. I don't usually talk about many self-published books, but John has a voice that will entangle you from the first page. I laughed so much while reading HARD DAY'S KNIGHT, the first book in the Black Night Chronicles, that the head minion came to see what I was reading. John also recently started a youtube book review/interview series where he pairs books with drinks. If you want to laugh, check it out HERE.

And now more about Hard Day's Knight:

Children are missing.

The police are stumped.

Halloween is coming, with an ancient evil on the horizon.

The vampires are the good guys.

This is not your ordinary fall weekend in Charlotte, NC. Vampire private detectives Jimmy Black and Greg Knightwood have been hired to keep a young client from being cursed for all eternity, but end up in a bigger mess than they ever imagined.

Suddenly trapped in the middle of a serial kidnapping case, Jimmy and Greg uncover a plot to bring forth an ancient evil into the world, and enlist the help of a police detective, a priest, a witch, a fallen angel and strip club proprietor to save the world. This unlikely band of heroes battles zombies, witches, neuroses and sunburn while cracking jokes and looking for the perfect bag of O-negative.




Sound fun? They are.  John, being rather prolific, has a good half dozen other novels available in e-book and/or print, including an omnibus of BUBBA the MONSTER HUNTER stories. (Remember what I said about being an unabashed redneck? hehe.)

 And a little more about John:
John G. Hartness is a recovering theatre geek who likes loud music, fried pickles and cold beer. John is an award-winning poet, lighting designer and theatre producer, whose work has been translated into over 25 languages and read worldwide.
John has been called "the Kevin Smith of Charlotte," and fans of Joss Whedon and Jim Butcher should enjoy his snarky slant on the fantasy genre.
He can be found online at www.johnhartness.com and spends too much time on Twitter, especially after a few drinks.
For more information about appearances, signings, and other silliness, feel free to follow John on Twitter (@johnhartness), or on his website www.johnhartness.com.


Now it's time for the giveaway! As John writes about snarky vamps, today's question is this: Who is your favorite vampire in fiction and why? Just leave the answer in the comments on the Blogger blog for a chance to win a copy of Hard Day's Knight. I'll announce the winner Tuesday July 3rd during the online release party for GRAVE MEMORY.

And remember, all authors in this series will be at the Fantastical Mystery Tour on Saturday, July 7th from 4-7pm at the Barnes and Noble on Forest Drive in Columbia, SC. I hope you'll come out and see us in person!

Comments

Susan said…
Chelsea Quinn Yarbro's Count Saint-Germain. I have a long time fondness for him as he was the first vampire I encountered in my reading that wasn't a "Bram Stoker" type vampire.
Sophie said…
I'd say Ivy from Kim Harrison, the Hollows series. She's just so human and so messed-up...
Nicola said…
Cat Crawfield from Jeaniene Frost's Night Huntress. Ok, so she's only a half-vampire but she's so real (you know what I mean) - making the mistakes we all make, less than perfect, it's easy to empathize with her. Even when she converts to full vampire, she's not "normal"!

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