#ThrowbackThursday - American Hellhound

"You don't want to get lost out on the moors at night...

"Everything looks the same out there. Hills, and bogs, and rocks. The ponies know the way, clever things, but a man...a man's just a man, and he wasn't made for the dark.

"You hear things, in the dark. Sounds like you've never heard before. You see things. Lights. And you worry it might be fairies until you remember what else might be out there. Watching. Listening. 

"And then every once in a while, some poor unfortunate traveler comes across a set of eyes, glowing red in the dark. And he smells corpse flesh, and hears a growl like thunder. And the man knows, then, that he's been found. Hunted - and rightfully so, 'cause he's a sinner same as all of us. Blood on his hands and evil in his heart. 

"And it ain't no living creature that's come for him. No. It's old Black Shuck. The black dog. The Lean Dog. It's one or it's all of 'em. Don't matter. They're all dark creatures. You see, sonny, when you make a deal with the devil, he always collects his price. And when he can't find you...well...he sends his hounds after you."

***

Not just anyone can put a devil dog on a leash. 

 

At the end of 2016, I released my fifth and final book of the year, Walking Wounded, and then took a little break for the holidays, with plans to break ground on American Hellhound after the New Year. Except, during that break, I caught a cold at a Christmas party that settled in my lungs and turned nasty. A few days into 2017, I was diagnosed with pneumonia, put on antibiotics and steroids, and relegated to the sofa for weeks. I couldn't even take care of my own horses, and the pain in my eyes and head was so terrible I couldn't think of writing. 

What I'd hoped would be a quick recovery ended up dragging out for six months. By the end of January, I was tired to dissolving into the couch, and started working again. 

Much of American Hellhound was written by hand in a spiral notebook, because the eye pain was so vicious I couldn't bear to look at the computer screen for more than a few minutes at a time. I don't know what it is about pneumonia that makes your eyeballs scream with pain, but it's happened every time I've come down with it. I was angry, and frustrated, and it didn't feel like I'd ever finish. 

But finally, in May, American Hellhound released, and despite all the setbacks, it ended up being one of the longest volumes in the series. It tells both a current tale of the club facing new, dangerous enemies, and gaining allies old and new, with Maggie and Ghost tackling parenthood all over again in their middle years. It also tells the "Then" story of Ghost and Maggie meeting, and falling in love, and fighting the odds to become the king and queen they are today. I think it's the book that finally shifted general opinions on Ghost...but he's still a hellhound, deep down. He never really stood a chance of being anything else.