809 Jacob Street
by Marty Young
Genre: Horror/Suspense
Word count: 45,421
Parkton is a dangerous town, full of dark secrets, and 14-year old Byron James finds himself stranded there. To make matters worse, his two new friends – his only friends – turn out to be class rejects with an unhealthy interest in monsters. They want to discover the truth to the infamous monster house at number 809 Jacob Street, and Byron is soon caught up in their game.
Joey Blue is an old bluesman who fell into his songs and couldn’t find his way out again. Now he’s one of the Gutterbreed, a slinking shifting shadow haunting the town’s too-numerous alleys. When an old dead friend comes begging for help, Joey’s world is torn apart. He is forced to stare down the man he has become in order to rescue the man he once was – and there is only one place he can do that.
The house on Jacob Street calls to them all, but what will they find when they open its door?
809 Jacob Street is available at Amazon.com and Amazon UK.
Marty, how did you come up with the title for your book? Does it have any special meaning?
The house is central to the story, so I needed a street name that sounded a little creepy but one that was perfectly normal, too (my thinking was perhaps influenced by the movie Jacob’s Ladder, which terrified me as a kid). And the number 809 just felt right once I had Jacob Street.
Who was your favorite character and why?
The old homeless bluesman, Joey Blue. He was the most fun to write; I got to drink scotch, imagine myself living in the gutters, and listen to a lot of classic blues while writing his scenes (every character has a soundtrack in my head, which I use to ‘get into character,’ so to speak).
Does your book have any underlying theme, message, or moral?
809 Jacob Street is really about the nature of monsters, and how sometimes, it is the person next to you that you need to watch out for the most.
What would/could a reader or reviewer say about this book that shows they “get” you as an author?
I think if the book scares the reader a little (or a lot), then perhaps they “get” me, and what I was trying to achieve here. It’s the slow wind up of suspense and the gradual distortion of reality until you are lost down the rabbit hole that drives me.
Give us an excerpted quote from your favorite review of this book:
“…as well written and well crafted as anything the master, Stephen King, ever penned. I can say with confidence, if you enjoy the kind of stories woven by King, you will definitely enjoy 809 Jacob Street.”
Where can people learn more about your writing?
www.martyyoung.com
