Wilkes-Barre author Brandon McNulty unleashes debut supernatural thriller ‘Bad Parts’
From a press release:
Fans of Stephen King, Dean Koontz, Richard Laymon, and Blake Crouch won’t want to miss the new gritty, fast-paced supernatural thriller by Wilkes-Barre author Brandon McNulty.
“Bad Parts” was recently published in hardcover, paperback, and digital formats via Midnight Point Press, a book that Alma Katsu, author of “The Deep” and “The Hunger,” calls “a page-turning tale of Faustian bargains, bad choices, and hard lessons.”
“‘Bad Parts’ asks the intriguing question, ‘What would you give up to make your body whole again? Can you put a price on your dreams?'” Katsu wrote.
An audiobook version of this debut novel can also be purchased directly from the author at brandonmcnulty.com.
“There’s a lot of excitement, a lot of dark decisions, morally ambiguous situations. There’s just tons of fun and darkness going on in this book,” McNulty said in his book release video on June 23.
“If you’re into that sort of stuff, if you like horror, you like supernatural thrillers, you like dark fantasy, this book is going to be right up your alley.”
The plot description reads:
When rock guitarist Ash Hudson suffers a career-ending hand injury, she seeks out the only thing that can heal it – her hometown’s darkest secret.
For decades, the residents of Hollow Hills, Pennsylvania have offered their diseased and injured body parts to a creek demon named Snare. In return, Snare rewards its Traders with healthy replacement parts. There’s only one catch – if Traders leave town, their new parts vanish forever.
Ash wants a new hand, but living in Hollow Hills isn’t an option. Not when her band is one gig away from hitting the big time. Desperate, she bargains with Snare, promising to help the demon complete its organ collection in exchange for both a new hand and the freedom for everyone to leave town.
As her band’s show rapidly approaches, Ash teams up with her estranged father in a last-ditch effort to recruit new Traders. But not everyone trusts Snare’s offer, and Ash soon learns how far her neighbors will go to protect their precious parts.
With her family in danger and her band waiting, Ash must find a way to help Snare. But even if she succeeds, there’s no telling what Snare plans to do with everyone’s bad parts.
Michael Arnzen, the Bram Stoker Award-winning author of “Grave Markings,” said, “This heavy metal love song about a deal with a unique kind of devil hits all the right notes as it flies by. McNulty delivers a tight, high-octane small town horror story that will literally grip you from beginning to end. It’s everything you want: an awesome book featuring unforgettable characters and plot twists by a must-read new author.”
Containing over 400 pages, “Bad Parts” is the first book in McNulty’s “Dark Parts” series. John Everson, another Bram Stoker Award-winning writer of books like “Covenant” and “The Devil’s Equinox,” called it “a nonstop thrill ride.”
“The twists keep coming tighter and darker as the novel races toward its grisly, unexpected, and thoroughly satisfying finish,” he said.
McNulty grew up loving monsters, demons, and the thrill of a great scare. Now he writes suspense, horror, and other dark fiction. Occasionally, he tries to write something sunny, but it always ends up veering hard into darkness.
In 2018, his novel “Bad Parts” won RevPit, which afforded him the opportunity to work with pro editor Ellen Brock. He also completed a Pitch Wars mentorship in 2017 with Natasha Raulerson.
He is a graduate of King’s College as well as the Taos Toolbox Sci-Fi/Fantasy Workshop and Calliope Workshop. In 2010, he finished as a regional finalist in a short story competition sponsored by the National Society of Arts & Letters. He also finished as a Writers of the Future semi-finalist in 2013.
His work has appeared in New Myths, The Overcast, Digital Horror Fiction, Bastion Science Fiction, and Sci Phi Journal, among others.
McNulty offers writing tips on brandonmcnulty.com and his YouTube channel.
“Brandon McNulty is a master of his craft. He introduces us to a town where something is terribly wrong… and a main character we can’t help but follow into the mesmerizing darkness that is Hollow Hills. Open ‘Bad Parts’ at your peril – you won’t be putting it down until the final page is turned,” said Frederic S. Durbin, author of “A Green and Ancient Light” and “Dragonfly.”
