Guest Author: James Tuck

I am excited to welcome debut author James Tuck to Literary Escapism today.  James’ first novel, Blood and Bullets, will be out in February from Kensington, but it’s already getting a lot of great buzz.

He lives to kill monsters. He keeps his city safe. And his silver hollow-points and back-from-the-dead abilities help him take out any kind of supernatural threat. But now an immortal evil has this bad-ass bounty hunter dead in its sights. . .

Ever since a monster murdered his family, Deacon Chalk hunts any creature that preys on the innocent. So when a pretty vampire girl “hires” him to eliminate a fellow slayer, Deacon goes to warn him–and barely escapes a vampire ambush. Now he’s got a way-inexperienced newbie hunter to protect and everything from bloodsuckers to cursed immortals on his trail. There’s also a malevolent force controlling the living and the undead, hellbent on turning Deacon’s greatest loss into the one weapon that could destroy him. . .

Want to meet Deacon Chalk before Blood and Bullets comes out in February? Then check out the fabulous enovella, That Thing At the Zoo, which was just released.
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The Nature Of Heroism

“We sleep safe in our beds because rough men stand ready in the night to visit violence on those who would do us harm.” -George Orwell-

Now that is a great quote. There is some debate as to whether George Orwell actually said that, but we are not here to discuss that. No, my friend, we are here to chat about heroes. Well, specifically one hero, the main man Deacon Chalk.

Deacon is the main character in my book Blood and Bullets. He is a gun-wielding ass-kicker who fights to keep humanity safe from monsters.

I found the above quote a few years ago and let me tell you, nothing ever said more perfectly sums up who Deacon Chalk is. He is that rough man who stands ready in the night to visit violence on your behalf. He lives in a dark, violent world and because of this he is dark and violent himself. The fight drives him to brutality for the greater good.

Deacon has sacrificed a lot to be suited to the fight. It isn’t a fight he sought out, but it is one he has stepped up to. Any choice he had was stripped from him the night his wife and children were murdered by a monster. That night set Deacon on the road we find him on at the beginning of Blood and Bullets. It has been five years and now Deacon has not only lost his family, but has given up his place in the world he protects. Deacon’s first reaction is violence because of the life he has chosen. He sacrifices his body over and over, throwing himself at monsters to protect humans.

He’s a lot like soldiers who have been through heavy combat. He can’t fit in with a world that he protects and a lot of people would look at him as a monster himself because of the things he is driven to do, never recognizing that without him they are just monster-bait.

That’s okay. He will still be there, in the night, ready to do the job. Deacon Chalk: Occult Bounty Hunter at your service.

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Meet James Tuck!

James R. Tuck is a former bouncer and has been a professional tattoo artist for the last 15 years. He owns Family Tradition Tattoo in Marietta, Ga and lives just outside of Atlanta with his wife, two kids, and four dogs.

Contact Info
Website: www.jamesrtuck.com
Blog: jamesrtuck.wordpress.com/
Social Media: Facebook | Twitter | GoodReads

Want to purchase James’s novel?
Blood and Bullets at Amazon | Book Depository (February 7, 2012 from Kensington Books)
That Thing At The Zoo at Amazon