Gina Rae Mitchell

Rock Gods and Messy Monsters by Diane Hatz, a satire, humor, absurdist, contemporary fiction available now 

A book blog tour from Goddess Fish Promotions.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and Marianne & Judy at Goddess Fish for providing me with the information for this tour.

Book Details

Rock Gods & Messy Monsters by Diane Hatz
Published by Whole Healthy Group LLC on 09/07/2022
Genres: Absurdist, Contemporary Fiction, Humorous, Satire
Format: eBook, Paperback
Pages: 256

Rock Gods & Messy Monsters is one woman's search for herself among the blood-soaked walls, dangling body parts, and alien-hatched explosions inside Acht Records.

Hailed by Kirkus Reviews as a “fast-paced, entertaining comic treat” and “the best kind of absurdism” from the Independent Book Review, the book is a humorous, fictional satire about discovering self-love.

It's the 1990s. Alex arrives to work at Acht, her improbable blonde hair streaked stress magenta and anger black. Her first duty is to wipe blood off her boss's walls. It goes downhill from there.

On the surface, Rock Gods & Messy Monsters is a story about life inside an entertainment company. A cast of comedic characters exemplifies the inner workings of Acht, where power and greed mask incompetence.

Underneath and between the lines of exploding body parts and brain extractions, Rock Gods & Messy Monsters is a cautionary tale. The story weaves through themes such as the Great Resignation, Quiet Quitting, and MeToo before they were movements. And it reminds us that our dreams can be illusions.

Learning who we really are takes courage and a commitment to self-love.

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Excerpt from Rock Gods and Messy Monsters

When the crowd had been taken to that final point where sight and sound and all other senses are so overwhelmed they overload and prepare to shut down, the music stopped. Everyone teetered off balance as the room was hurled into darkness. Weena swooned and fell to the ground, her weight creating a tremor that nearly felled the clonebot.

The spotlights came on and slowly focused on the Y1K. Through the silence came a beat, softly at first, but growing louder and louder, the sound of a bass drum. Through the heartbeat of the sound came a guitar, three-chord simplicity, bringing rhythm to the beat. Heads bobbed unconsciously as a bass guitar and drums joined in, creating the simple rhythms and infectious sounds of early rock and roll.

Without warning, the clonebot’s head jerked upright and his eyes bolted open, staring directly at Weena sitting on the floor. She fainted backward, her mouth agape and close to falling off. The man-machine slowly began to clench and unclench his tightened fists, twist and turn his stiffened wrists. The music grew louder with each movement the Y1K made. He raised his hands toward his face and looked down at them, his expression blank and uncomprehending. He turned his head right, then left, stretching, focusing, learning how to use his muscles and move his limbs.

The lights intensified and directed their rays solely on him while the music reached an earsplitting level. The clonebot blinked, then involuntarily raised his arms over his head, his fists clenched and interlocked as he assumed the essential Roger Daltrey rock stance. The music built and built until the robot forcefully lowered his arms and opened his mouth, his diaphragm exploding.

“Mama,” squeaked the next international mega super rock star.

Excerpt provided by the author/publisher for use in this post.

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Purchase Links for Rock Gods and Messy Monsters

Amazon – OneLink for every country   

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Guest Post from Diane Hatz

Author of Rock Gods and Messy Monsters

On Being a Writer

Even though Rock Gods & Messy Monsters is my first novel, it’s the second publication of the story. It took fourteen years from its original debut to understand the writing and who I am.

I’ve wanted to write since I was fifteen – I even started a fanzine on my favorite band, The Who, in my teens because I didn’t know how to express my need to write. The fanzine got me accepted into graduate school for creative writing. My studies resulted in probably the worst book ever written (that will never see the light of day!)

After getting my degree, I moved to New York City to pursue my writing career while working in the music industry. I didn’t (and still don’t) think it’s wise to work in the creative field one wants to pursue. Luckily, I landed a dream job in a great record company within days of arriving in the Big Apple.

A layoff and a couple years later, I ended up in a major music label with an insane cast of characters around me. And in the late 1990s, I finally got serious about my writing – Rock Gods & Messy Monsters is what resulted. It took five and a half years to write, edit, rewrite, re-edit, and so on until I was satisfied with the manuscript.

The book is fiction, but it’s based on my time working in the music industry. The main character, Alex, is trying to get promoted and away from her insane boss – the story revolves around her experiences trying to get out of her job. In contrast, a comedic cast of characters swirls around her.

The next step in my writing career was finding an agent and/or publisher. For large publishing companies, an agent is mandatory; for smaller presses, it’s possible to work with them on your own. I sent out dozens and dozens of queries – and got rejection after rejection. One sent a form letter with boxes to tick off. They ticked off the box that told me to find another career. Talk about being devastated.

The book sat for a few years, and in 2008, I self-published the novel. At that time, self-publishing was generally frowned upon, but I wanted to prove to myself that I had written a book. And what better way than by owning a physical copy?

I got a good review from Kirkus Reviews, but it wasn’t enough to convince me I was a writer worth writing. I also had secret dreams of being picked for Oprah’s book club and becoming one of the select few famous writers. That didn’t happen. So I gave up trying to promote the novel soon after it was released.

Fast forward fourteen years without any serious writing. At the beginning of this year, a friend reconnected to tell me she’d found a copy of what was previously called Rock Gods of Acht. She shared that as soon as she finished the book, she quit her job in telecom law. After nearly ten years of doing what she didn’t want to do, she was so inspired by my writing that she left her career to pursue her creativity and passion.

She also told me that I had the book’s meaning all wrong. It’s set in a record company, but it’s about the search for self and understanding that our dreams can be illusions – and that it’s up to each of us to do something about it.

I couldn’t ask for a bigger compliment, so after a lot of encouragement, I decided to republish the book. I also took another leap and decided to shut down my nonprofit and leave the work I’d been doing for nearly twenty-five years. It was time for me to pursue writing as a full-time career.

The result is an updated version of my original book – now called Rock Gods & Messy Monsters. It was released earlier this month, and I’ve just begun the exciting adventure of book marketing. I might not be picked for Oprah’s book club, but I’m tickled that I’m tabling at the Amazing Comic Con in Las Vegas as I write this.

Also, I’ve chosen to indie publish Rock Gods. After my experience working in the music industry, and the consolidation of the publishing industry, I feel more comfortable publishing myself. And I refuse to use the words “self-publish” anymore. It takes more than one person to publish a book, no matter how it’s done.

To any of you who are thinking of a creative career, I encourage you to take the leap. Now. Trust in the universe and know that wherever the wind takes you, it’s where you are meant to be.

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I love my Amazon Kindle Unlimited Subscription. So many books, so little time!

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Amazon – OneLink for every country   

Rock Gods & Messy Monsters ...Shop on Amazon

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Giveaway!

Diane Hatz will award a $20 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Visit more stops on this Goddess Fish tour for extra chances to win!

Official Tour Page for Rock Gods and Messy Monsters

Full Tour Schedule:

September 26: Gina Rae MItchell
October 3: Viviana MacKade
October 3: Long and Short Reviews
October 10: The Avid Reader
October 10: Westveil Publishing
October 17: Sandra’s Book Club
October 17: Fabulous and Brunette
October 24: Literary Gold
October 31: All the Ups and Downs
November 7: Lisa Haselton’s Reviews and Interviews
November 14: Kit ‘N Kabookle

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