I recently started reading Matt Hayward's work with his most recent book, The Faithful, of which I said, "If you're a fan of Lovecraftian horror, you don't want to miss this one. Certainly recommended."
I've long been a fan of Bob Ford. Read anything by Bob and I can promise you won't be disappointed.
One of the cool backstories to A Penny For Your Thoughts is that Matt lives in Ireland and Bob in Central Pennsylvania, a distance of about 3,300 miles, not to mention an entire ocean. Thank God for the internet, without which this book would be nigh on impossible. And that would be a shame because this book is so damn good.
A solid opening sets the stage for all the goodness to follow...
"Whenever I take the Lowback Trail, I always find something new: unknown names carved into tree trunks, discarded briefs by overeager dippers, a smoldering pit left from weekend hikers…but today? Today I found a penny jar."
Yep. It all started with that damn jar of pennies. Wheat pennies, to be exact. Pennies with wishes taped to them. Wishes which when read, came true. Just ask Kenny who read the one about wanting big boobies. It seems the pennies were also reusable for new wishes. It also seems each wish came with a price. What could possibly go wrong?
Then there's the overall writing. There are so many wonderful bits of prose...
"Rumor had it those waters were home to a school of catfish so big they'd eat a gaggle of kids and ask for seconds."
"Place was quiet as a mouse fart."
"Sometimes you can't let a fart without a neighbor three doors down knowing what you had for dinner,"
Overall, A Penny For You Thoughts gave me that Twilight Zone vibe. I love that feeling the reader gets when the writers are just "in the zone". This is a story which is humorous, dark, bittersweet, and despite its outlandish plot, it somehow manages to be completely believable.
Published by Poltergeist Press, A Penny For Your Thoughts is available for pre-order. Scheduled for release on June 1, 2019, the book will be available in hardcover, paperback, and e-book formats.
From the Author's bios...
Robert Ford has published the novels, The Compound, and No Lipstick in Avalon, the novellas, Ring of Fire, The Last Firefly of Summer, Samson and Denial, Bordertown and the short story collection The God Beneath my Garden. In addition, he has several screenplays floating around in the ether of Hollywood. He can confirm the grass actually is greener on the other side, but it’s only because of the bodies buried there.
Matt Hayward is a Bram Stoker Award-nominated author and musician from Wicklow, Ireland. His books include Brain Dead Blues, What Do Monsters Fear?, Practitioners (with Patrick Lacey), and The Faithful. He compiled the award-winning anthology Welcome To The Show, and is currently writing a novel with Bryan Smith. Matt wrote the comic book This Is How It Ends (now a music video) for the band Walking Papers, and received a nomination for Irish Short Story of the Year from Penguin Books in 2017.
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