National Running Day and Novel Release Day.
It all started with a predawn run in San Diego. The trail was dark, and I ran by faith, not by sight, through a path with homeless men strewn about and the specter of Tijuana's drug cartels not far off in the distance.
The ideas came forth like sweat, and what I have left is a novel I'm very proud of. It's a visceral story of the fine line between pleasure and pain, known all too well by runners, and the things we will endure for what we love. Mother is the name for God on the Lips of All Children, and love for family is at the root of this novel. Brought to you by Books of the Dead Press. Check it out on Amazon. Paperback soon to follow.
"An ordinary running trail becomes the most terrifying place on the planet for Mark Matthews' troubled, likeable, marathon-running, tattooed, hipster protagonists and their young daughter. But, for the horror-show clan living under that trail — who subsist on flesh and bath salts in a nightmare orgy of blood and crazy — the hipsters are a rare treat indeed. As the family v. family showdown transpires underground and off the beaten path, the vulnerability of running on a trail — alone but for the watchers in the woods — makes the setting unique and well-crafted. Written with verve, surprising compassion, and bite, On the Lips of Children is a seriously demented must read.
~Sacha Scoblic, author of Unwasted: My Lush Sobriety
“The only thing bad about this book, is that it had to end! On The Lips of Children is a raw, adrenaline filled ride about what lengths a person will go to to save the ones they love. Every paragraph is thrilling, complex, and will keep you glued to the pages until the very end. From the beginning of the book, you know you are in for a heart-pounding ride. The strength, resolve, and desperation of all characters is evident and leaps from the page with grace. You will find yourself running alongside these characters feeling their emotions and experiencing their pain. You will wonder how and why these things could come about, but in the end knowing that sometimes lives just aren't sunshine and roses. The tale is told with such great care that its easy to picture yourself right there along with the characters going through the struggles with them. Mark Matthews has written an incredible book, one that is not to be missed. It is gripping, edgy, and not to be missed." ~ Dawna Jicha, The Kindle Book Review
"On the Lips of Children, by Mark Matthews, is a dark, terrifying page-turner. It’s Stephen King’s Misery on bath salts. In a cave. It scared the crap out of me. The story was original. The characters were fascinating, exposing the reader to worlds foreign to most of us. Matthews has a knack for pacing his story then jolting the reader with a frightening plot twist. I was impressed by how he wrapped up the ending. Read this book. ~Michele Miller, author of The Thirteenth Step: Zombie Recovery, an Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award quarterfinalist.
"What would you do for your family? Anything, of course. Blood is thicker than water, after all—and sweeter, too. On the Lips of Children is a gritty, sadomasochistic tale of misguided loyalty and dysfunctional kin—innocence morphed into desperate beasts that are hypnotized by the stars at night and the glint of steel as it parts quivering flesh.” ~Richard Thomas, author of Staring Into the Abyss
"Mark Matthews’ novel On the Lips of Children is a brutal, intense ride of claustrophobic horror and gritty, page-turning suspense. This is dark fiction at its visceral, chilling best." ~ Jan Kowlowski, author of Die, You Bastard! Die!
"On the Lips of Children is a fast-paced, sleek rush of a novel. It takes off like a runner out of the blocks from the opening graphs. The prose is lean and direct, and the story pulls you along quickly. Make no mistake, this is a dark, bloody book, at its bleak heart about the love a mother has for her children and the lengths she will go to for them to survive. You'll never look at jogging, the homeless, or even vampires the same way again. And, no, this book isn't about and doesn't feature vampires at all. What's featured here is infinitely worse. This is not a book that the Mexican Tourist Authority will endorse. ~ John F.D. Taff, author of Little Deaths
~Sacha Scoblic, author of Unwasted: My Lush Sobriety
“The only thing bad about this book, is that it had to end! On The Lips of Children is a raw, adrenaline filled ride about what lengths a person will go to to save the ones they love. Every paragraph is thrilling, complex, and will keep you glued to the pages until the very end. From the beginning of the book, you know you are in for a heart-pounding ride. The strength, resolve, and desperation of all characters is evident and leaps from the page with grace. You will find yourself running alongside these characters feeling their emotions and experiencing their pain. You will wonder how and why these things could come about, but in the end knowing that sometimes lives just aren't sunshine and roses. The tale is told with such great care that its easy to picture yourself right there along with the characters going through the struggles with them. Mark Matthews has written an incredible book, one that is not to be missed. It is gripping, edgy, and not to be missed." ~ Dawna Jicha, The Kindle Book Review
"On the Lips of Children, by Mark Matthews, is a dark, terrifying page-turner. It’s Stephen King’s Misery on bath salts. In a cave. It scared the crap out of me. The story was original. The characters were fascinating, exposing the reader to worlds foreign to most of us. Matthews has a knack for pacing his story then jolting the reader with a frightening plot twist. I was impressed by how he wrapped up the ending. Read this book. ~Michele Miller, author of The Thirteenth Step: Zombie Recovery, an Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award quarterfinalist.
"What would you do for your family? Anything, of course. Blood is thicker than water, after all—and sweeter, too. On the Lips of Children is a gritty, sadomasochistic tale of misguided loyalty and dysfunctional kin—innocence morphed into desperate beasts that are hypnotized by the stars at night and the glint of steel as it parts quivering flesh.” ~Richard Thomas, author of Staring Into the Abyss
"Mark Matthews’ novel On the Lips of Children is a brutal, intense ride of claustrophobic horror and gritty, page-turning suspense. This is dark fiction at its visceral, chilling best." ~ Jan Kowlowski, author of Die, You Bastard! Die!
"On the Lips of Children is a fast-paced, sleek rush of a novel. It takes off like a runner out of the blocks from the opening graphs. The prose is lean and direct, and the story pulls you along quickly. Make no mistake, this is a dark, bloody book, at its bleak heart about the love a mother has for her children and the lengths she will go to for them to survive. You'll never look at jogging, the homeless, or even vampires the same way again. And, no, this book isn't about and doesn't feature vampires at all. What's featured here is infinitely worse. This is not a book that the Mexican Tourist Authority will endorse. ~ John F.D. Taff, author of Little Deaths
No comments:
Post a Comment