It’s 1936, and nearly twelve-year-old JAMES ELLIOTT is a bellhop at McGrave’s Hotel, there a year since the night his parents died while on a spy mission into Nazi Germany.
JAMES craves a goodbye message from his parents, but is distracted by troublesome guests who require his help.
Assistance with locating a missing and priceless mummy, wrangling mutant spiders, and attaching the head of a bridegroom is just the kind of hospitality guests have come to expect while at McGrave’s hotel where guests are dying to check in.
But over the course of one frightful evening, James will team with Death’s daughter to fight Nazi sympathizers, monsters, and the undead in this riveting, deathly, historical adventure story unlike any you’ve read before.
McGrave’s Hotel by Steve Bryant
Publication Date: October 11, 2016
Publisher: Tantrum Books
An
Interview with Steve Bryant
What inspired you to
write McGrave’s Hotel?
McGrave’s Hotel is a tribute to my
parents, who lived through the big band era of dining and dancing and danger
played out in hotels and nightclubs. As I mention in the book, I also found
inspiration at the movies, especially the Saturday matinees of my childhood. I
particularly loved the classic black and white horror films that featured
multiple monsters, sometimes Frankenstein’s monster, Count Dracula, and the
Wolf Man all in the same feature. It is no wonder that I would one day write a
story that contained vampires, mummies, oversized spiders, and assorted ghosts
and ghoulies.
When or at what age
did you know you wanted to be a writer?
I
have always written. When I was very young and read only comic books, I wrote
and drew comic strips. I later studied short story writing formally in college.
What is the earliest
age you remember reading your first book?
Outside
our local library, reading choices were limited to Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew
books. By the fourth grade, I belonged to the Science Fiction Book Club and
received a new book every few weeks. These were the first “adult” books I
read. I was ten or so.
What genre of books
do you enjoy reading?
I
am drawn more to the style of the author than to any genre. It helps, though if
there is a love story going along with the main action story.
What is your favorite
book?
Billy Phelan’s Greatest
Game
by William Kennedy.
You know I think we
all have a favorite author. Who is your favorite author and why?
F.
Scott Fitzgerald. No one writes love stories better.
If you could travel
back in time here on earth to any place or time. Where would you go and why?
I’d
love to return to my own childhood, to spend a day with friends and relatives
who are no longer with us, and to have the opportunity to be nicer to them,
especially to the shy kids who never got our attention, or to my parents to
whom I owe so much.
When writing a book
do you find that writing comes easy for you or is it a difficult task?
It’s
easy to write. It’s difficult to write well.
I find that writer’s block isn’t a problem if I first outline in detail. Then it
is fun to flesh out the story
Do you have any
little fuzzy friends? Like a dog or a cat? Or any pets?
No.
I had many dogs and one parakeet when I was young.
What is your "to
die for", favorite food/foods to eat?
I
love all desserts, especially strawberry shortcake in season. For entrees, it’s
hard to beat shrimp and grits.
Do you have any
advice for anyone that would like to be an author?
Write
all the time, constantly trying to improve. Take Steve Martin’s advice: Be so
good they can’t ignore you.
Steve Bryant is a new novelist, but a veteran author of books of card tricks. He founded a monthly internet magazine for magicians containing news, reviews, magic tricks, humor, and fiction, and he frequently contributes biographical cover articles to the country’s two leading magic journals. He lives in Bloomington, Indiana.
Giveaway Information: Contest ends October 28, 2016
·
One (1) winner will receive a scrabble tile book cover charm (US ONLY)
·
Five (5) winners will receive a digital copy of McGrave’s Hotel by Steve
Bryant (INT)
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