Back in November of 2013, Derric Miller, current Hardrock Haven managing editor, and Mark Allen, then a Hardrock Haven senior writer, released Mudslingers, a splatterpunk horror novella. They are back at it again, this time with a full novel called Gristle.
Gristle, released May 9, is a brutal, bloody, briskly-paced novel of redemption, sacrifice, and backwoods horror in the classic tradition of The Hills Have Eyes and Wrong Turn.
“Back in August 2014, I was between writing projects and Mark reached out to me with an idea,” said Miller. “He had a screenplay that made the semi-finals in a Slamdance Screenplay Competition, and he wanted to turn it into a novel. But he was busy with other projects and didn’t have the time. I told him I’d read it and then make my decision. As you can tell … I really liked the screenplay.”
Miller took the first crack at the novel, sent it back to Allen, and over the course of the next nine months, they created Gristle.
The novel did not exactly follow the screenplay. There were sections unexplained in the script that needed to be added to the novel in order for the mutant killer mythology to make sense, and after a beta-reader gave feedback, Allen and Miller completely rewrote the ending, far different than the screenplay. So while they didn’t exactly stick to the script, what they came up with together just made a great read even better.
“When I decided I needed help turning Gristle into a novel, I knew finding the right man for the job was crucial,” said Allen. “Derric Miller was that man. Having worked with him during my stint at Hardrock Haven and our highly enjoyable experience writing Mudslingers together, I knew we shared similar sensibilities when it comes to horror fiction. This is a guy with an appreciation for a character-driven book that is not skittish about the red stuff … which is exactly what I wanted Gristle to be. And that’s exactly what it is, thanks to Miller joining the project.”
You can pick up a Kindle version of Gristle today on Amazon by going to http://www.amazon.com/Gristle-Mark-Allen-ebook/dp/B00XFTTK8G. In just a few weeks, the paperback version will be available as well. Follow them on Twitter @MarkAllenAuthor and @millerwriter respectively.
