The House of Marionettes by BC Hollywood

 Happy Release Day to BC Hollywood!

"Brace yourself for a visceral experience. The book contains graphic content. Reader discretion is advised."

There's a lot of controversy surrounding trigger warnings (I won't get into that here because sheesh). I don't know about you, but when I see something like "brace yourself for a visceral experience," I am all in. There's a place in my cold, black little heart for all subgenres of horror, but a big ol' chunk of what remains of it belongs to extreme horror and splatterpunk. Ashamedly, I haven't had the pleasure of diving into BC Hollywood's Darkle Chronicles, but upon doing a little research into this release, the books have moved right to the top of my never-ending TBR. Plus, this cover is absolutely stunning!

The synopsis for the book is as follows:

Jack Cullinan, an undertaker whose life unravels after his wife's mysterious disappearance, faces a destitute existence. A glimpse of his lost love thrusts him into a rescue mission with apocalyptic consequences.

Amidst the shadows of modern Dublin, Jack Cullinan, an undertaker haunted by his wife's vanishing on their wedding night, descends into a relentless downward spiral. Less than a year later, he finds himself destitute, until a chance sighting of his missing love catapults him into a desperate rescue mission.

Can Jack navigate the nightmarish corridors of The House of Marionettes to rescue his wife? Will The Sisters succeed in their nefarious plot, or can the one who wields the Book of Ravens halt their insidious schemes once and for all?

Embark on a chilling journey in "The House of Marionettes," the third installment of the Darkle series—a splatterpunk horror saga.

BC Hollywood was kind enough to answer a few questions I had about his writing. 

Q: The House of Marionettes is the third book in your Darkle Chronicle series. For new readers, should these books be read in order? Reviews indicate this might be the least "intense" of the three by splatterpunk standards. What made you decide to take a different approach for this story?

A: The Darkle Chronicles books are best read in order. Shadow Apocalypse then Once Upon a Time in Monto then The House of Marionettes. There's also a short prequel story, Red Jacket, which can be read before or after Shadow Apocalypse.

 The House of Marionettes is definitely less intense than the other books, particularly Shadow Apocalypse. Each book has been driven by the mix of characters in it, and I've written a mixed genre series because of that. Shadow Apocalypse is an extreme post-apocalypse horror story in which none of the characters are particularly heroic. Red Jacket is set immediately before Shadow Apocalypse but less extreme and with a fantasy feel to it. Once Upon a Time in Monto is a dark urban fantasy set in Victorian Dublin and covers the first attempt at bringing about the apocalypse by a group of demonic nuns.

The House of Marionettes is set in contemporary Dublin, or a dark urban fantasy version of it, and shows how the shadow apocalypse came about. I'm writing book four, Shadows Rising, at the moment. It's set after the events of Shadow Apocalypse and the epilogue of The House of Marionettes. It starts to weave all the threads from the previous books together. Book five will conclude the series, but I have two more shorter books planned before that, one a supernatural hunt, and the other a werewolf western. I hope to have the series finished next year. I just need to not get sidetracked by all the other projects I have planned.

Q: The cover of this book is absolutely gorgeous. Can you give a shout out to your cover artist? How do you choose your covers? Does the story come first and the cover is built around it, or does the cover spark the story?

A: The cover of The House of Marionettes was a family effort. My son is studying illustration and I can do layout, so we managed ourselves for this one. For me, the story always comes first. I usually have a good idea early on where a story is going which helps guide the cover design or the picking of a premade one.

Q: A few early reviews have mentioned the influence of Irish mythology in this book. What parts of Irish culture did you draw from while writing The House of Marionettes? How important is representing culture in your writing to you?

A: The House of Marionettes expands upon the Irish historical and mythological references in Once Upon a Time in Monto. There's a lot of darkness to draw from in our mythology, but for this series I've focused on the Fomorians, the banshee, and The Morrigan. Representing Irish culture in my writing is important to me, but I give it my own slant. In upcoming books I'll be delving into devil worship, witchcraft, grave robbing, famine, and vampirism, all inspired by Irish history and legends.

Extreme horror mixed with dark mythology and urban fantasy? The Darkle Chronicles seem to have a little of something for everyone. Click here to purchase The House of Marionettes, and while you're at it, grab the rest of the series!