What happens when an FBI manhunt, an experimental rafting expedition, a deranged killer and primordial blood-sucking creatures collide in the Southern Appalachian wilderness? Author Scott Nicholson set his tale in a fictionalized version of the Linville Gorge Wilderness Area in the North Carolina mountains, where he often camps and hikes. The Linville River contains some of the most treacherous whitewater in the eastern United States, and Nicholson wondered what would happen if a group was testing out an experimental raft and ran into some interesting problems. “Hiking in the gorge, I started picturing these primitive vampire creatures swooping down from the cliffs,” Nicholson said. “I don’t get scared very easily, but the idea made me walk a little faster.” Nicholson also drew on elements of the hunt for Olympic bomber Eric Rudolph. In “They Hunger,” a pair of FBI agents close in on Ace Goodall, an abortion clinic bomber who has been hiding out for weeks and suffers from religious delusions. A trip wire at the bomber’s camp sets off an explosion that opens crevices in the ancient mountains, exposing the lair of bloodthirsty creatures that have been dormant for centuries. “All these different characters meet in the worst possible conditions, and not everybody is interested in mutual survival,” the author said. “The river is the only escape from the vampires. But when a freak storm erupts, the natural and supernatural worlds collide and humans seem awfully fragile.” Nicholson has written five other novels based in the North Carolina mountains. His first, “The Red Church,” was a finalist for the Bram Stoker Award and an alternate selection of the Mystery Guild. His other novels are “The Farm,” “The Home,” “The Manor,” and “The Harvest.” Nicholson is a journalist in the Blue Ridge Mountains, where he raises goats and tends an organic garden when he’’s not writing. He studied creative writing at the University of North Carolina and Appalachian State University. His website at www.hauntedcomputer.com contains fiction, writing advice, and an online journal. You can read an excerpt of the first chapter here.

I read the synopsis for Heart-Shaped Box several weeks ago in an offline advertisement somewhere, thought it very intriguing, and made a mental note to look for it online when I got the chance. When that chance finally came, I had not only forgotten the title but the author’’s name as well! The nice thing about the Internet is that if anything is worth reading or watching (or not), you”ll hear about it quickly. So far, Heart-Shaped Boxes is getting stellar reviews. I”ll be adding mine in the near future. Review Excerpt from Scott Smith of The Ruins

The set-up for Joe Hill’s novel, Heart-Shaped Box, is appealingly simple. Jude Coyne, an aging rock star, buys himself a dead man’s suit. He acquires it online, lured by the promise that the dead man’’s ghost will be included in his purchase. Jude thinks this is a joke, of course. He also assumes the seller is a stranger. We soon discover that he’’s wrong on both counts, however, and from this point on the story moves with an exhilarating urgency. Jude wants the ghost gone; the ghost wants Jude dead. We watch, chapter-by-chapter, as they battle for survival. “Watch” is the appropriate word, too, because this is an extremely visual book. Hill’s prose is lean and precise, and he renders Jude’s world with impressive confidence. It feels solid, every detail both correct and fresh. And this physicality provides a firm platform for the book’’s otherworldly happenings, which seem all the more frightening for being so securely grounded.

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