What are you reading this spooky season?
I like to reserve October reads for all things horror and paranormal, and this year I’m doing something a little different.
I’ve decided to dive into C.S. Boyack’s The Hat series! It has been so much fun.
I have read and loved Boyack’s cyberpunk detective novel Grinders, and have been wanting to explore some of his other worlds.
Boyack is a writer who really knows his craft and seems to have no end of wild and whimsical ideas to explore.
I really appreciate his sense of humour and love of the absurd, and that’s ultimately why I settled on The Hat series. You can read my review of the entire series (so far) here!
I’m fortunate to have C.S. Boyack on the blog today to share a little bit about this series, and in particular the book Viral Blues! Check it out. Maybe The Hat will tickle your fancy, too…
Viral Blues by C.S. Boyack
Thanks for lending me your space today. This is a new stop for me, and I’m excited to visit. I like to give my paranormal stories a little nudge during October, and that’s the reason for the visit. This year, I’m pushing The Hat Series. There are currently four titles, I have four weeks, and it seemed like a good idea at the time.
This week, the focus is on Viral Blues. I try to have a lot of fun in this series, so consider it as dark humor. This was my poke at the superhero team-up adventures that are all the rage right now. I have enough characters to pull it off, and had a great time putting them in the same story and letting them fight for page time.
One of the goals in this series is to make them all stand-alone titles. If you were to pick any of them up, you won’t feel lost by reading them out of order. This one is a lot of fun, and involves someone tampering with the nation’s vaccine supply. Oddly enough, I published it before we ever heard of Covid and the whole mess the world has right now.
The clues behind this disaster have supernatural overtones, and this is why the team comes together. This is a rollicking adventure with humor, blood, brains, and even a flamethrower involved.
As another poke at pop culture, I included a secret last chapter after my author comments. You don’t have to read it to get the complete story, but you’re going to want to. Think of it like my after-the-credits scene.
This story includes some of my most popular characters over the years, but Lizzie and the hat are center stage. It’s one of their tales. I hope your readers will give it a shot.
The Blurb
The Hat Series is my opportunity to have a little fun, and readers seem to be enjoying themselves, too. The series fits into a variety of pigeonholes as all stories do. If you’re looking for supernatural, paranormal, or urban fantasy, with a dose of dark humor, this might be the series you’re looking for.
Lizzie St. Laurent is a hard working twenty-something. She’s struggling with the issues of being a young adult, but also dealing with the supernatural world. After her grandmother died, she tried to get a memento from the estate. Her greedy uncle refused to share, so in desperation, she stole a box from the moving van.
Her treasure turned out to be an old hat that belonged to her grandfather. Not exactly the knickknack she was hoping for. This isn’t any ordinary hat. He’s actually a being from another dimension who was brought here by witchcraft. He has a few magical skills, but also some more ordinary ones. He can transport her to a cabin, deep in the forest, among other things. A bit more ordinary is his ability to play the upright bass, but only if he has a human host to manipulate. He’s also a shapeshifter, but is limited to always being a hat of some kind.
The hat has been in Lizzie’s family for centuries, and all of his partners have been monster hunters. Their symbiotic relationship also created an additional income stream for Lizzie. They formed a small cover band, which tends gets them out at night when monster hunting is more productive.
I put all kinds of strange things into these stories to make them fun. My section breaks have all been replaced with a series of bass clefs. I also include silly graphics in various locations to enhance the tales. You’ll find tons of snark mixed in with your blood and adventure.
These are short novels, designed for a single afternoon. While it is a series, they can be read as stand-alone tales. If one of the other volumes is your entry-point, I don’t think you’ll feel lost.
If this sounds like something to make your October complete, I’d appreciate you checking it out.
Discussion
What do you think? Are you intrigued? Titillated? Maybe even a little bit… excited?
Thank you so much, Craig, for sharing this series with us!
You can read my reviews of Boyack’s work here:
Indie Feature Friday: The Voyage of the Lanternfish by C.S. Boyack (coming soon)