Item: Chasing The Dragon
Author: Gina

What's in this post!

Chasing the Dragon by Mark Towse | Guest Post from the Author |#VigilanteJustice #Crime #Thriller #Horror | @GoddessFish @MarkTowsey12 @towseywrites

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

Quick Summary:

Chasing The Dragon is a multi-genre romp encompassing horror, thriller, crime, fantasy, and romance, all wrapped up with a twisted sense of humor. At its heart, though, it’s a book about trauma and how it follows us around no matter where or how fast we run.

Chasing the Dragon by Mark Towse | Guest Post from the Author |#VigilanteJustice #Crime #Thriller #Horror | @GoddessFish @MarkTowsey12 @towseywrites

Chasing The Dragon by Mark Towse
Published by Eerie River Publishing on 03/23/2024
Genres: Fiction, Crime, Thriller, Horror
Format: eBook, Hardcover, Paperback
Pages: 234

A town on its knees, dread's bony fingers wrapping around its throat and squeezing, death rattles soon to follow.

Drugs, filth, and a lack of human decency are starving it of hope. Introducing Simon Dooley, our wannabe superhero, the relentless voice of his dead mother pleading with him to "end the chaos."

The town needed a hero... it got Reformo.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Excerpt from Chasing the Dragon

“This doesn’t have to happen.” I hold my hands out, declaring myself weapon-free. “You could turn your life around. We could unite, start teaching kids about the harmful effects of drugs and clean up these streets. What do you say?”

“Look, I don’t know who the fuck you are, Mister, but I see you ain’t right in the head. But mental or not, you can’t come on my patch and expect not to get shanked.”

Moonlight falls across his face, picking up the few hairs across his lip. Jesus Christ, how old is he? “It’s not too late,” I say. “This town can be good again. We could start a youth centre. Get funding from the council and buy a table tennis table.”

“You’re off your rocker, mate.” He tosses the knife between his hands, finishing with an impressive spin. “That might keep you happy down at the local funny farm, but folks can see angels with the stuff I sell.”

“I just want some order.”

“Well, you’re in the wrong place, mate.” He stares me down, flexing his jaw muscles. “Now, you have two options here: run like the wind, or have that lovely leotard cut to shreds.”

“It’s not a leotard.”

This time, I move first, feigning to the left but attacking from the right. Bum Fluff tries to alter course, but it’s too late, the knife cutting through the air, the blade missing my side by nothing more than an inch. We come together, the flurry of hairs on his lip dancing on the breeze.

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

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Purchase Links for Chasing the Dragon

Chasing the Dragon: Dark Vigilante Justice Thriller Novel

Amazon Kindle Edition
Towse, Mark (Author)
English (Publication Language)
234 Pages - 03/23/2024 (Publication Date) - EERIE RIVER PUBLISHING (Publisher)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Guest Post from the Author of Chasing the Dragon

Chasing The Dragon is a multi-genre romp encompassing horror, thriller, crime, fantasy, and romance, all wrapped up with a twisted sense of humour. At its heart, though, it’s a book about trauma and how it follows us around no matter where or how fast we run.

Simon Dooley is me—at least in the early years. Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t get a cape made by the local chain-smoking seamstress and take to the streets to fight crime, but I did grow up in that same claustrophobic and controlling environment.

My mother ruled with an iron fist, the slightest annoyance sending her straight to Defcon 1. She would raise hell if I left crumbs on the counter or trampled in the tiniest bit of dirt. Such misdemeanors could ruin entire days or weekends. I’m unsure where it came from—perhaps being one of five sisters. Even now, after all these years (I’m 50), I often hear her scolding voice, which still sends a shudder down my spine. My father was a shell; she’d taken his spark long ago.

I equate their marriage to war, of sorts: long periods of silence followed by short bursts of linguistic violence.
In essence, this was an easy story to write. It was cathartic, therapeutic, often sad, disappointing, and sometimes joyful. I recall escaping into fantasy land many times, thus the Reformo connection (Simon’s superhero name for himself). It shows what lengths we will go to in an attempt to escape the dark shadow of trauma. But at the end of the day, it will always be part of us. It drives us to make certain decisions; it shapes our lives and the people we choose to spend time with.

Simon Dooley, AKA Reformo, is just trying to do his best. In attempting to “End the chaos,” something his mother often used to scream, he believes he can finally escape her voice and live a ‘normal’ life.

People are falling in love with Reformo, and I hope you do, too. Chasing The Dragon is available via Amazon, B&N, and all the usual outlets.

Early ARC reviews:

‘Sublime.’
‘Tragic. Brutal. Hilarious.’
‘Had me laughing out loud one minute and crying the next.’
‘The writing is a tour de force.’
‘Jaw-dropping.’
‘What a debut!’

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

About Mark Towse

Mark Towse is an English horror writer living in Australia. He would sell his soul to the devil or anyone buying if it meant he could write full-time. Alas, he left it very late to begin this journey, penning his first story since primary school at the ripe old age of forty-five.

Since then, he’s been published in over two hundred journals and anthologies, had his work made into full theatrical productions for shows such as The No Sleep Podcast and Tales to Terrify, and has penned fourteen novellas, including Nana, Gone to the Dogs, 3:33, and Crows. Chasing The Dragon is his debut novel.