Girl Clown Hatchet: A Novel (Girl Clown Hatchet Suspense Series Book 1)
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Chloe agreed to move to the charming little town that sank against a winding river with a mountain at its back. It also happened to be a town that, according to her Aunt Tanya, Chloe had once called home. Its name was Spindler. And that was when the clown with a hatchet began stalking her again.
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Afterword
The Girl Clown Hatchet series is based on a disturbing dream I had back in August of 2015. It started with an elderly Native American woman raising a daughter alone in a trailer court. While the daughter was at school, the old woman, in a dementia state, would dress up as a clown and dance with a hatchet to circus music. The woman in her dementia would stalk her daughter dressed as the clown, and when her illness grew worse, so did her malicious desire to scare the girl… I can’t give too much away, you still have two books left to read, but the series ends the way I dreamed it.
The legend of the Uktena was something I felt in the dream, but it was an ethereal vision I could not yet put into words. I have Cherokee in my blood and I’ve always felt a strong tie to the culture. I spent hours and days pouring through Native American lore, and when I found the tale of the Snake Boy, I felt butterflies in my stomach. It was the legend from my dream. I’ve rewritten the legend of the snake boy, mixing my own imaginings with the ancient lore.
I also did hours and hours of research on the history of clowns, jesters, masks…and discovered, to my surprise, that every culture since the beginning of time has had its own clown. Clowns make us laugh and yet we have inexplicable fear of them. Why?
In the days of jesters, kings would have the jester’s jaw broken and reset in a permanent smile if the jester failed to make one laugh. You see, clowns aren’t permitted to feel pain. They must always perform. They must always dance for the crowds. They must be manic, wild, do the unexpected. They entertain with a broken smile and a mask.
On the surface, this is amusing to us, but deep inside is a beating heart and a conscience and a beast whose only purpose is survival. We know that the wolf will slip into sheepskin when it wants to eat a sheep… And perhaps this is what the clown is doing. It slips into its broken smile and mask of joy, because inside it wants to eat you.
I’m not suggesting cannibalism, though John Wayne Gacy had his own idea on that. What I am suggesting is that perhaps clowns are vampiristic in nature. Perhaps the clown feeds on your happiness or fear, the way a vampire needs blood. It will suck the humanity out of you until there is nothing left but a dry husk of skin. And then, that’s when the hatchet becomes handy… just kidding.
Mr. Jingles’ hatchet shows the true intent of his nature, I think. And the red balloon? Well, let’s just say I’d never take a balloon from a clown. I recommend you don’t either.
Stay with me through this tale of Native American Lore and masked clowns. Keep Chloe and Joey close to your heart, because in a way, they are each and every one of us—the dark and the light, the monstrous and the pure. We choose what we are, and hopefully, in the end… love wins the day.
’Til we meet again, lovely readers,
~ Mav
Acknowledgments
Girl Clown Hatchet started out as a single book I was going to finish in one month for Nanowrimo. It was supposed to be about 50k. Well, the characters had other plans. After a break in December I sat down and wrote the story through 100k, then 150k… one book turned into three. Holy Moly! It wasn’t because the story plot was huge, because to be honest, it was fairly simple. It was because the characters were so endearing and real. They kept driving driving the story forward. They pushed it over the limits to even what I could have ever possibly imagined on my own, especially in the third book, Clown Apocalypse.
Four particular characters wouldn’t be in this series if they hadn’t participated and won a contest I threw last fall. They all thought they were going to meet an instant gruesome death by clowns, but their characters grew into so much more. It amazes me that this story as it is would not exist if they hadn’t gotten in touch with me through newsletters or other social media. The Girl Clown Hatchet series would not be here without: Erin Fitch, Sharon Sell, Thomas Hobbs, and Diana Sheen. Thank you, thank you, and again THANK YOU.
Extra shout out to writer buddy, Erin Fitch for the friendship, laughs, support and for her careful edit of this story. Big thanks to Alec Cizak for making sure the world knows that clowns are taking over the horror field. And a hesitant (but sincere) thanks to one of my best friends at the other end of the globe, Jason Michel, for merely being satan incarnate and kicking me in the a$$ when I need it.
Last, but not least, thanks to the readers and fans who continue to read my fiction.
About the Author
Mav Skye has never chased down a clown and whacked it with a hatchet. She hopes to keep it that way. When she isn’t plotting world take over or hiding from the sun, you’ll find her spray painting random objects to make them look cooler, talking true crime, and dreaming up wild stories.
www.mavskye.com
I’d love to hear from you. Hit me up!
@MavSkye
mavskye
darksoftly@gmail.com
Also by Mav Skye
Stand Alone Novels
Wanted: Single Rose
Clown with a Hatchet Series
Girl Clown Hatchet
Chasing Clowns—January of 2017
Clown Apocalypse—April of 2017
Supergirls Series
Supergirls 1: Behind the Black Door
Supergirls 2: Night without Stars
Supergirls 3: Ghost of a Chance—Coming Soon!
Tales to Chill Your Bones series:
Scarecrows
Witches
ShapeShifters
BunnyMan
Abyss
Tales to Chill Your Bones, Boxset 1-5
Graveyards
Deadly Women
Werewolves
Dolls
Clowns—Coming Soon!
Short Stories
The Undistilled Sky
Harvester of Days