Joshua Martin – Devil's Hollow

Devil’s Hollow

John Larson is a broken man. Living in his car, he spends his days drinking himself to death until he receives a haunting text from his mother, and his world is turned upside down. Heading back to his hometown of Devil's Hollow, John finds himself enveloped in mystery. The quiet bucolic town he knew as a child has been overrun by The Dominion and its enigmatic cult leader Sashara Teed. John must battle both his internal demons and the evil plans of The Dominion to save his family, Devil's Hollow, and maybe even humanity as he knows it.

Hi Joshua, welcome to Martin Matthews Writes!

Hey! Thanks for having me. It's great to be here.

Well, we’re going to talk about your novel, Devil’s Hollow, today, but before we get to that, let’s get to know you a bit, shall we?

Yeah. I guess I've always been writing and circling around the horror genre for a long time. I used to run a horror film review website and I've written, under various by-lines for a number of B-Level horror websites. i kicked some screenplays around that I'd written for a few years, including a rather awesome remake of The Serpent and the Rainbow, but couldn't really get the traction I wanted. After plugging away at that for a few years, I just sat down one day with an open word document and started typing. A year, and many late nights later, DEVIL'S HOLLOW was born.

That’s a great segue into the book itself, so let’s continue there. Devil’s Hollow: what is it about?

I hesitate to shove it into a particular genre. I guess, broadly, it's a horror novel. I like to think of it as character-driven terror, but we can roll with horror. DEVIL'S HOLLOW is really my swing at Stephen King's 'SALEM'S LOT. A man in his early 30s returns to his hometown to find that things aren't as they seem. In King's book it's vampires, in DEVIL'S HOLLOW an end of days cult has infiltrated the town and are leading it and its residents to certain doom.

Tell us a little about some of your characters.

Good question. There are a couple of different main characters. John Larson is the prototypical reluctant hero. Broken by the choices he's made in his life, he crawls back to his hometown seeking a safety net that has been largely absent over the last 20 years. While there he uncovers that The Dominion, a real wrath of God type cult has wormed its way into almost every aspect of life in The Hollow. When his father goes missing, John suspects foul play from The Dominion. Through a process of honesty, healing, and heartbreak he reunites with his closest high school friends to unravel the multi-layered mystery of the cult and the small town

Sounds cool. Where did the idea for this book come from?

I grew up in one of these typical small northeast towns. It was, and still is, one of those places where everyone puts on their best faces as soon as they step foot out the door. But there is an undercurrent that flows through these types of places. An undercurrent of fear, of hate, of this not in my back yard thinking towards outsiders. Couple that with some wretched experiences I had as a teenager watching what organized religion can do to people and voila! DEVIL'S HOLLOW was born.

Is there a message behind your book? What is it?

That's really open to the reader. For me, while writing it? John, the protagonist is a major practicing alcoholic. For myself someone who has dealt with that issue in my family and personally, it was kind of cathartic. He finds his way through. It's a positive message. He starts off homeless living in his car, living to drink, and by the end he's sober, in love, and has an actual future he's excited about.

Well, tell us about some of your influences.

I mean, the answer is always Stephen King. Like I said earlier 'SALEM'S LOT has its fingerprints all over DEVIL'S HOLLOW. I am inspired by words. George Carlin is one of "my guys." Warren Zevon is one of "my guys." They are gentlemen who could take an everyday situation and make it either horrific, hilarious, or sarcastic...or all three at once. Zevon's "Excitable Boy" is an absolutely brilliant song. Here is this song, it comes on it sounds like The Eagles, Jackson Browne, that whole 70's Southern California thing...but then you listen to the lyrics.

What are you currently reading?

I just started reading The Silence of the Lambs. Red Dragon is an unbelievable book, and I'd been putting off reading this one because the film is so iconic. I wanted to get it out of my head, as much as possible, before I started it. It's one of my favorite films ever, so it was tough, but I think I've separated myself from the film enough to enjoy the book on its own merits.

Are you working on another novel? Can you tell us anything about it?:

Well, last month I released a collection of short stories I've collected through the years called GHOSTS FROM THE RUINS. You can pick that up now. It's just some writing exercises, you know..."Can I write this kind of story." I'll let the readers be the judge of that.

My next novel proper is tentatively called ALL THE BODIES. It's got more of a true crime/serial killer bent. Look for that early next year if all goes well.

Well, it’s been great talking to Thanks for stopping by and chatting with me today, Joshua.

Hey, this was awesome. I'll have to come back and do this again for the next one. Thanks so much for having me. Take care.