Something Wicked Returns: Matthew Quinn Martin, Nightlife Guest Post & Giveaway

Hi guys!

Today I have for you a guest post by Matthew Quinn Martin, author of Nightlife, a chilling horror novel published by Pocket Star on October 21st 2013. Matthew wrote the most interesting post and I'm eager to share it with you, but here are a few things about his book first:

Title: Nightlife

Series: Nightlife, #1

Release date: October 21st 2013

Publisher: Pocket Star

Buy: Amazon

For centuries an ancient evil has slept beneath the streets of New Harbor. This Halloween, it wakes up.

An action-packed debut horror novel from talented new writer Matthew Quinn Martin, Nightlife pits a feisty bartender and a mysterious loner against bloodthirsty terrors as alluring as they are deadly.

Nightclub bartender and serial heartbreaker Beth Becker might be a cynic. But when her best friend goes missing Halloween night, Beth knows it's up to her to find out what happened.

Her quest will take her on an odyssey through the crumbling city of New Harbor, Connecticut. Along the way she meets a homeless prophet warning of something he calls the "Night Angel"-a bloodthirsty creature that feeds on the forgotten. And she will form an unlikely bond with a hunted stranger who knows all too well what stalks the streets at night.

Scary Things that Actually Happened on Halloween

by Matthew Quinn Martin

Hallo all! Matthew Quinn Martin (author of Nightlife) here with a peek at a few historical events that have happened on everybody’s favorite day in October.

The Birth of the Protestant Reformation:
Halloween 1517––Wittenberg, Germany

A 33 year old Monk named Martin Luther walks up to the door of Castle Church, not to trick-or-treat, but to nail his complaints with the Catholic Church to the door. Almost five-hundred years of sectarian violence follow…and in some parts of the world, continue to this day.

The Last Judgment:
Halloween 1541––The Vatican
Michelangelo puts the final touches on his terrifying vision of the apocalypse. Highlights include: painting one of his critics (and the Pope’s own master of ceremonies) with the ears of a jackass whose penis is bitten by a giant snake, as well as a self-portrait of the artist himself as the flayed skin of St. Bartholomew.

The Reign of Terror Begins:
Halloween 1793­––Paris, France

Twenty deposed ministers to the National Convention known as The Girondists are wheeled to the guillotine. This becomes the first notable mass-execution of the Revolution and marks the beginning of a bloody stretch of history that will come to be known as The Terror. Over the next ten months nearly 40,000 people will lose their heads to the guillotine.

The Donner Party:
Halloween 1846––The Sierra Nevada, United States

Eight-nine westward-bound American pioneers attempting to cross the mountains find themselves unable to continue due to heavy snowfall. The following spring little more than half of the original group would reach California. And, according to legend, those that made it only survived through cannibalism.

Il Duce:
Halloween 1922––Rome, Italy

At the age of thirty-nine, Benito Mussolini was sworn in as prime minister of Italy. He is credited as one of the most influential figures in the creation of fascism and a prominent influence on Adolph Hitler. His genocidal policies toward Ethiopia, Libya and Yugoslavia lead directly to the deaths of over 300,000 people.

Ivy Mike:
Halloween 1952––The Marshall Islands

Codenamed Ivy Mike, the first successful test of hydrogen bomb goes off without a hitch. The resulting explosion yields the same explosive force as twelve megatons of TNT…over five-hundred times more powerful than the bomb dropped on Hiroshima, Japan during World War II.

The Moxley Murder:
Halloween 1975­­––Greenwich, Connecticut, United States

The body of fifteen-year-old Martha Moxley is found beneath a tree in her family’s back yard with her pants and underwear pulled down around her ankles. Lying next to Moxley was a broken golf club. An autopsy would later reveal that she was bludgeoned and stabbed to death with it. It would take almost twenty-seven years for her killer, Michael Skakel to be brought to justice. In 2002, he was sentenced to twenty years to life for the murder of Martha Moxley. Prior to conviction Skakel is reported to have boasted, “I’m going to get away with murder. I’m a Kennedy.” Looks like he was wrong.

Michael Skakel (who was convicted of the murder of Martha Moxley) was just granted a new trial...hmmm http://news.yahoo.com/kennedy-cousin-skakel-wins-trial-1975-death-210413870.html

Galileo Gets An Apology:
Halloween 1992––The Vatican

Nearly four hundred years after the Inquisition had tried astronomer Galileo Galilei, judged him “gravely suspect of heresy” and condemned him to a life of house arrest, the Catholic Church finally issues an apology. Better late than never!

Well…I suppose that last one was scary only an existential/Waiting for Godot kind of fashion. But it can’t all be doom and gloom––have a Happy Halloween everybody!

About the author:

Matthew Quinn Martin was born in Allentown, Pennsylvania and raised in New Haven, Connecticut. However, it wasn’t until he moved to Manhattan that he realized he was a writer. These days, he lives on a small island off the North Atlantic coast of the United States where it gets quiet in the winter…perhaps too quiet.



Matthew has generously offered one e-copy of Nightlife, via a download code for the Simon & Schuster website, to one winner, internationally. Just enter the Rafflecopter below. Good luck.

a Rafflecopter giveaway