Down the Rabbit Hole

Fresh Inspiration

These days my schedule affords me little time to read or write, two things I love to do. My dedication to this blog forces me to write at something at least once a day and I can manage to snag a few minutes each night before bed to crack a book every so often. I relish my rare trips to the library where I can look over the new fiction in hopes of finding something that is worthy of those few precious moments. I recently returned from my last visit with a copy of "Horns", the latest by author Joe Hill. Joe Hill's first novel was called "Heart-Shaped Box" and it was a ghost story with a fresh and modern twist. I became an instant fan. Joe Hill writing is direct and smart. He is innovative and current. When I saw his new novel, I snatched it up. Scarcely one chapter in, I am engrossed in the story of a young man who, after a night of debauchery, wakes to find he is growing a set of horns. What is even more disturbing, he finds that people seem compelled to confess all their deepest and darkest desires to him and that even those closest to him, from his live-in girlfriend and the local priest, harbor horrible thoughts and fantasies. It is writers like Joe Hill that continue to inspire me and lead me to believe that there are countless stories left to be told in new and engaging ways. With everything I have read, I can still be shocked, appalled, touched and surprised. It gives me hope as a writer. It gives me fresh inspiration.