McGrave’s Hotel by Steve Bryant
Publication Date: Oct 11, 2016
Publisher: Month9Books
It’s 1936, and nearly twelve-year-old JAMES ELLIOTT is a bellhop at McGrave’s Hotel, there a year since the night his parents died while on a spy mission into Nazi Germany.
JAMES craves a goodbye message from his parents, but is distracted by troublesome guests who require his help.
Assistance with locating a missing and priceless mummy, wrangling mutant spiders, and attaching the head of a bridegroom is just the kind of hospitality guests have come to expect while at McGrave’s hotel where guests are dying to check in.
But over the course of one frightful evening, James will team with Death’s daughter to fight Nazi sympathizers, monsters, and the undead in this riveting, deathly, historical adventure story unlike any you’ve read before.
GOODREADS
Steve Bryant's world for McGraves Hotel?
First, a brief synopsis: My young hero is James Elliott, almost twelve years old, a bellhop at McGrave's ever since his parents were killed on a spying mission into Nazi Germany. James craves a goodbye message from his parents, deals with three sets of troublesome guests (a ham actor auditioning actresses for Dracula, Egyptian museum officials whose priceless mummy vanishes, and a bridegroom whose head goes missing), and strikes up a romance with none other than Death's daughter, Fawn. James and Fawn risk death themselves as they resolve the guest situations and team against monsters and Nazis in a climactic rooftop battle.
So what world is this? There are significant differences between this world and that of my previous novel, Lucas Mackenzie and the London Midnight Ghost Show. The “real” world is that of a single night in New York City in 1936, near Christmas, on one of the dark days leading to World War II. That world is a tribute to my parents, who lived through the big band era of dining and dancing and danger played out in hotels and nightclubs. As I mention in the book, I also found inspiration at the movies, especially the Saturday matinees of my childhood. I particularly loved the classic black and white horror films that featured multiple monsters, sometimes Frankenstein’s monster, Count Dracula, and the Wolf Man all in the same feature. It is no wonder that I would one day write a story that contained vampires, mummies, oversized spiders, and assorted ghosts and ghoulies. As to the “unreal” world, in conveying such creatures, I tried to keep to their classic movie renditions: werewolves avoid moonlight and prefer raw meat; vampires sprout bat wings to fly, drink blood, and don’t show up in mirrors; ghosts are partially transparent and can pass through walls. My hero and his girlfriend combat the monsters according to the “rules” set out by Universal Studios and the other studios of my childhood.
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Steve Bryant's world for McGraves Hotel?
First, a brief synopsis: My young hero is James Elliott, almost twelve years old, a bellhop at McGrave's ever since his parents were killed on a spying mission into Nazi Germany. James craves a goodbye message from his parents, deals with three sets of troublesome guests (a ham actor auditioning actresses for Dracula, Egyptian museum officials whose priceless mummy vanishes, and a bridegroom whose head goes missing), and strikes up a romance with none other than Death's daughter, Fawn. James and Fawn risk death themselves as they resolve the guest situations and team against monsters and Nazis in a climactic rooftop battle.
So what world is this? There are significant differences between this world and that of my previous novel, Lucas Mackenzie and the London Midnight Ghost Show. The “real” world is that of a single night in New York City in 1936, near Christmas, on one of the dark days leading to World War II. That world is a tribute to my parents, who lived through the big band era of dining and dancing and danger played out in hotels and nightclubs. As I mention in the book, I also found inspiration at the movies, especially the Saturday matinees of my childhood. I particularly loved the classic black and white horror films that featured multiple monsters, sometimes Frankenstein’s monster, Count Dracula, and the Wolf Man all in the same feature. It is no wonder that I would one day write a story that contained vampires, mummies, oversized spiders, and assorted ghosts and ghoulies. As to the “unreal” world, in conveying such creatures, I tried to keep to their classic movie renditions: werewolves avoid moonlight and prefer raw meat; vampires sprout bat wings to fly, drink blood, and don’t show up in mirrors; ghosts are partially transparent and can pass through walls. My hero and his girlfriend combat the monsters according to the “rules” set out by Universal Studios and the other studios of my childhood.
Steve Bryant is a new novelist, but a veteran author of books of card tricks. He founded a monthly internet magazine for magicians containing news, reviews, magic tricks, humor, and fiction, and he frequently contributes biographical cover articles to the country’s two leading magic journals. He lives in Bloomington, Indiana.
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Giveaway Information: Contest ends October 28, 2016
- One (1) winner will receive a scrabble tile book cover charm (US ONLY)
- Five (5) winners will receive a digital copy of McGrave’s Hotel by Steve Bryant (INT)
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