EPPIE Award winning author Ben Larkin was born in Fort Worth, Texas, but has also lived in Arizona and New Mexico. He now resides back in Fort Worth with his wife and children. His first novel, PIT STOP won an EPPIE in 2009 for Horror.
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THE HOLLOWS By Ben Larken
1949
A young girl is traumatized when she witnesses a grisly murder in the forest behind her home.
1999
A loving wife disappears in the middle of the night, leaving no trace of her whereabouts.
2009
Former detective David Alders rents an apartment at a typical complex; a quiet unassuming place nestled in the outskirts of Fort Worth called The Hollows.
David is at a dead end after ten maddening years searching for his vanished wife. With mounting bills and a daughter on the verge of college, he makes the only logical choice: sell the family home, get back to work, and take a cheap apartment. His daughter, Melanie, is secretly thrilled about the change hoping it means a fresh start for their withering family.
But The Hollows has other plans…
As a new community welcomes the Alders into its midst, elusive figures watch from the periphery, waiting for their moment. On the first night, a grotesque, burnt man seizes Melanie in her bed, spewing insane ramblings before disappearing into the darkness. She struggles to convince her father what happened was real, but David has his own problems.
Like the fact that he has just woke up in the wrong day.
Welcome to a tour through the dark underbelly of the last half-century where invisible hands take you by force to the demons of your past. Where you can find terror, time travel, and murder—all for one low monthly rent. Welcome to…
THE HOLLOWS.
Pray that the lease agreement expires before you do.
READ THE FIRST 10 CHAPTERS FREE!!
WIN - Join the party and leave Ben a question or comment today over here on our Cyber Launch Party and you'll get your name in the hat for one of several prizes that will be given away like an autographed copy of PIT STOP and an autographed copy of THE HOLLOWS! The winner will be announced right here, tomorrow - so be sure to check back!
Hey! Thanks for throwing me a launch party. That's definitely a first for me. I'm thrilled that the book is finally out, and I can't wait to discuss it with anyone and everyone.
ReplyDeleteGood morning Ben and Happy Release Day!!!
ReplyDeleteLet me say congrats on the Eppie win for PIT STOP - well deserved! And I'm so excited to celebrate your new release THE HOLLOWS with you today.
I love that the first 10 chapters are available for free until tomorrow (I believe) so everyone, get over there and check it out - the link is in the above post.
So Ben, how long have you been writing? PIT STOP was your first published novel, how long did that take you to write?
Good morning to all
ReplyDeleteI'm Jim Brown, of LL-Publications, Ben's publisher. I'm putting up the following prizes for the launch party today, so post away with yoyur questions and comments, and don't forget to read up to ten chapters of THE HOLLOWS online right now! http://www.ll-publications.com/thehollows.html
* Signed copy of THE HOLLOWS
* Signed copy of Ben's award-winning PIT-STOP
* One free ebook download from our catalogue
* A "PIT-STOP" t-shirt
Jim Brown
Hi Ben,
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on the new release! I really enjoyed reading the excerpt and it looks like a book that's going to be super hard to put down once started.
What was your inspiration behind the story? What sort of research did you have to do to get into the characters mindsets?
Happy Reading
Anna Shah Hoque
s7anna@yahoo.ca
p.s. DeNita...somehow my very first post from this morning has disappeared...*must be b/c it's Friday*
By the way, I'm loving the tag line "Pray that the lease agreement expires before you do."...Totally Awesome!
ReplyDeleteHey there Anna - I think you commented to my post over on our Author News Blog about this party today - I saw one come through from you. Bet that's what happened.
ReplyDeleteHey Jim - welcome from all the way across the pond. Thanks so much for offering up the great prizes today!
Ben,
ReplyDeleteBest of luck with the new book and with your other one, as well.
Is there gore in the books or is it mostly pychological horor? I can't handle a lot of gore, but the hubs loves it.
That would do it...I'm a brunette who has a hidden blonde side...what can ya do? LOL
ReplyDeleteI was able to snag an advance copy of The Hollows!! Overall, a wonderful book. I have to admit, it made me think twice about some of my neighbors when I lived in an apartment! I fell in love with Tess and shared in her heartache and sadness. Your villians were very creepy and your hero, David, is a sympathetic character struggling to be a single parent and figure out the new world of which he's been thrown into the middle.I thoroughly enjoyed the "cameo" of characters from your previous novel, Pit Stop. I understand that there is a sequel of The Hollows in the works and I am waiting patiently until I can learn what happens next to the tenants of The Hollows.
ReplyDeleteHow long have you been living with this story before you actually decided to write it? What planted the seed?
ReplyDeletecongrats on your release day! this book sounds great i havent had a chance to read any of your work your actuallya new to me author but after readingthe chapters it sounds awesome and wanna know what happends next.
ReplyDeleteWow, thanks for all the wonderful comments. I really do appreciate every bit of support. I'm hoping THE HOLLOWS will be a four book series when all is said and done. I can't wait to tell some of the characters' stories.
ReplyDeleteAnd Leni, that's a great question. I can tell you I started working on THE HOLLOWS over 10 years ago. I went through several different incarnations along the way. I always loved the idea of time travel story where you have to give part of yourself over to something evil and undead to make the trip, but the problem was I had too many directions to go with the concept. Each of them sounded great, and the indecision kept shutting me down. That's why doing it as a series just made sense. Now I can explore all the dark alleys that I want to without leaving anything out. Each character you meet in the first one has some great secrets that won't fully come to light until a ways down the line.
Ben really is an incredible author, or else we wouldn't have published him. We're very choosy!
ReplyDeleteHis debut book PIT-STOP, won the 2009 EPPIE award for Best Horror in Las Vegas in March. Not bad for a first book!
Jim Brown
And Sharon,
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like I'd probably warn you away from my first book PIT-STOP. There's lots of squeamish moments in that one, definitely not for the faint of heart :)
As for THE HOLLOWS, it would definitely fall under the psychological horror category. There are some bloody moments in it, but the scares come from the ghostly things happening around the complex.
As for the research, it was all Fort Worth based. I live in this part of Texas, so naturally I wanted to set my series there. I've been picking up every book I can find on Fort Worth history. Of course, in later books we'll be going back into that history to find the source of the clock's evil.
Hi, Ben.
ReplyDeleteI'm late for the party but I do have a question, if you're still around.
What is your opinion on book trailers? Do you think they help in book sales?
Thanks,
Tracey D
Congrats on the release of your book. I have not read any of your work yet. After reading the chapters I am putting The hollows on my WishList.
ReplyDeleteHI Ben :)
ReplyDeleteRead Pit stop earlier, Great read.
Just read the 10 free chapters, WOW what heck of a read!
Congrats on the release, it looks like a winner :)
Hi Ben,
ReplyDeleteCongrats on the new release!
Your books definately are ones I would love to check out!
Thanks for the great giveaway!
Awesome Estella! I hope you enjoy the book. Tracey, that's a good question about book trailers, and one I'm probably not qualified to answer. I haven't tried making one yet. I keep thinking I should. The fact that you're asking means it's something you've checked out before. I think in the Youtube age, any time you can present your work in a video clip, people are going to notice
ReplyDeleteFirstly Happy Release Day. Secondly I love the title THE HOLLOWS. It shouldn't be creepy but I find it chilling. Another book for my list. Cheers!!
ReplyDeletemarypres@gmail.com
Thanks Mary. I kinda thought in honor of another big release today I should call it THE TWILIGHT SAGA: THE HOLLOWS. But then there's that whole getting sued thing...
ReplyDeleteSeriously though, The Hollows just fit as a title. Not only is it a creepy name for the apartment complex, but the main characters in the story have all been hollowed out by something in their past, whether it's a missing wife or a fallen brother in Hurricane Katrina.
Congrats on the Release Ben. I have to admit I've never heard of you before now. Thanks to author island I am being introduced to all kinds of new authors lately. Some of which I've enjoyed meeting and their books are great. I believe you will be one fo them because your book sounds great I've just started reading books that have some horror and found that I really enjoy them. I use to only read dtright up romance, but have broadened my horizons so to speak. I also like that this is a series, I find alot of times I feel like I'm missing something when there is only 1 book.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Misty
ReplyDeleteYou might like The Hollows a lot. It definitely has a romantic streak running through it. The main character David Alders is trying to reach his missing wife through time travel without changing the past - a risky trick to pull off, and one that'll be explored through the whole series. But their relationship is the heart of the story.
Congrats Ben....and best wishes for a successful launch!!! I'm looking forward to reading it and the series to follow.
ReplyDeleteThanks Mitzi, and thanks AuthorIsland for hosting this. It's been a lot of fun. I'm truly honored every time someone takes a chance on my work.
ReplyDeleteTHE PRIZE WINNERS!
ReplyDeleteFrom a random drawing of all those who commented at Ben's THE HOLLOWS release party, here are the winners:
The signed copy of THE HOLLOWS goes to MISTY/MITZ
The signed copy of PIT-STOP goes to BOOKLOVER0226
The free ebook download from our catalogue goes to SHARON
The PIT-STOP t-shirt goes to S7ANNA
Well done to you guys. I need contact from BOOKLOVER0226 and SHARON to arrange their prizes. I've emailed the other two direct.
Great party, and thanks to everyone who took the time to join in. We hope you buy THE HOLLOWS or PIT-STOP. We know you will not regret it!
Jim Brown
Hi, Ben. I will be reading The Hollows just as soon as I can get to the bookstore and buy it.
ReplyDelete