Writing

Thrash Metal Book/Album Packs

27 Mar 2024 — Leave a comment

The NEWEST book in the heavy metal horror series will soon be hitting the world with a thunderous roar!

Thrash Track is the fifth book in the track series. Each book takes the reader on a deep dive into the mind of both the detective and the serial killer. The characters and the stories are infused with various flavors of hard rock and heavy metal.

The first three books take place in the 80s and follow Det. Jagger Mahoney, the father of the Det. Mahoney duo. Final Track brings to life the hard hair rock MTV videos of the late 80s as grisly murder scenes. Acid Track follows a serial killer preserving young boys on a dusty LP path into the hot belly of the desert, all to acid rock soundtrack of The Doors. Back Track features a vampiric killer following the phases of the moon while drowning the reader in the howls of Type O Negative and Black Sabbath.

In book 4, Det. Stella Mahoney makes her debut appearance as a homicide detective. She’ cold on the inside, fiery on the outside, and blows off steam with double shots of bourbon and live metal shows. In Devil’s Track, she fights the hypnotic power of a satanic album to hunt down a killer duo burning victims at the stake. Rob Zombie dominates the sound track along with a slew of other 90s metal gods.

The NEWEST installment, Thrash Track, is a thrash metal meets murder gem!

Thrash Track will be released EXCLUSIVELY at the upcoming DOUBLE release party (in person with hair rock legends LΓΏnx) and EXCLUSIVELY ONLINE through a limited number of print packs. The wider release will not be until summer of 2024, and will not come as book/album packages with all these EXTRA GOODIES!!!

Thrash Track

It’s 1999. Electric avenue is sizzling. Thrash metal is thriving.

The body of a young man is found behind a strip club. His skinless hand is clutching an open book. A message is written in his own blood. Detective Stella Mahoney, yanked from a heavy metal and bourbon bender, is thrust into a hunt for the Skin Peeler. Her inherited Mahoney instincts heighten.

Lolita eases the grip of her damaged brain by immersing herself in MTV videos. The contortion of her lip distorts her rhymes. Her mind flickers back to 1993 when she was the guitarist of Electric Skin and in love with the lead singer. She’s obsessed with achieving the perfect rap-metal performance.

When their worlds collide, sex, murder, thrash metal and rap fuse into a deadly combination.

Thrash Track Print Packs

These EXCLUSIVE print packs come with: author signed print copy of Thrash Track, 2 track (digital) soundtrack, print album card, digital album booklet with cover art and lyrics, and your VIRTUAL back stage pass to the DOUBLE release party. THIS IS FOR those of you who want one of these killer packages, but aren’t in Calgary and can’t come to the party.

The soundtrack was a collaborative effort and offers two tracks. The lyrics were written by Killers and Demons (Julie Hiner), the vocals and music were done by the killer thrash metal band Hazzerd, and the mixing and production was done by the talented Cody Antsey. The album artwork was created by Killers and Demons.

The first track, Stella’s Scream, reflects the state the Det. Stella Mahoney finds herself in: her detective father was murdered by a serial killer drinking the Type O Negative blood from his cult of young girls, her mother is right up her ass about NOT following in her father’s footsteps, and she’d KILL for a double bourbon-heavy metal-sex bender right about now – but she has to hunt down the Skin Peeler, so she’s screaming from the depths of her soul!

The second track, Skin Peeler, represents the demise of Lolita, the guitarist for Electric Skin, as the toxic rot in the back of her brain reaches lethal fingers over her face and pulls her lip into a contortion that distorts her rhymes. Her inner being is a version of Ed Gein.

THRASH TRACK PRINT PACKS

It’s Book Launch Time!

21 Dec 2023 — Leave a comment

A new book has arrived. Metal Demon has clawed its way from the depths of hell to the surface of the earth. This one is quite special. The reader is taken on a wild ride through the eyes of death metal aura sucking demon and thrown into the savage metal pit of the death metal singer.

Elena is a metal demon. She spends her time in dive joints dripping with human juices hunting for her next meal. Only the aura of a savage death metal singer can satiate her, until she feasts on Sage. Something has awakened within her. Cannibalistic cravings weaken her and drive her to devour forbidden things. Can she control her urges, or will she expose herself and face another exorcism?

Sage, the lead singer of Soiled Carcass, is on a booze and sex doused tour with a reputation to keep. During a performance at Bad Idol, he blacks out and hits the stage. Images of a six-hundred-and-sixty-six-year-old face dripping in black ichor invade his mind as he relives a heroine infested past. Will he get a grip on his sanity or succumb to the demon invading his mind?

When their worlds collide, a possession of primal death metal extremes unfolds.

Grab your copy now and thrust yourself into a savage death metal ride!

KILLER $0.99 launch sale is on NOW!

Metal Demon

Year in Review

23 Dec 2022 — Leave a comment

Happy Holidays to you! I hope that you have some time lined up to rest, to enjoy life, and to spend time with your loved ones. As I sit here with my morning coffee and a delicious eggnog biscotti baked by my mom, I reflect upon the year and realize how much I need a break. I promise to take my own advice and step back to enjoy the things that matter the most over the holidays.

A lot has happened in my author path over the last year. I took a deep dive into a massive makeover and overhaul of my books, my website, my newsletter…all of it. I now have the rebranded Track Trilogy along with a full ‘author toolbox’ behind it. I love how it all turned out. It reflects my voice, the essence of the books, and the core of what I write. I built a wonderful relationship with a cover design team along the way, and reflected the new look throughout my whole author presence.

With that said, I have realized that my custom designed ‘vintage’ print books also have a place in the world! I attended my first in person event since before lockdown, and was a little shocked but thoroughly excited to find a true audience for these creative projects that I poured my heart and soul into. Heavy Metal Horror has a place, and I’ve started to find it!

The most important thing that came out of this massive makeover, and my first in person event in years, was that found my voice. Actually, that’s not quite right. I had my voice. I just didn’t realize it. It was shining through loud and clear for years as I worked hard on writing and producing my books. All of the time spent on working and reworking covers, my newsletter, my website, and my social media streams came to a place where it all came together. People started giving me feedback, saying how Killers and Demons had such a clear look and feel – they definitely know something comes from it when they see it.

I guess then the biggest thing that came from this year was my awareness and belief in my voice. Thank you to all of you for reading my books, my blog, my posts, and supporting me along the way. Without you, none of this would be possible.

As a direct result of all of this, I had the courage to enter Final Track for an award. It came in as a finalist (Top 5) in the 2022 Kindle Book Awards for Horror/Suspense! It was also a semi-finalist for best cover, and it was included in the Readers Choice. This was a huge boost for my belief in my books. I have now entered books in multiple award contests, and will continue to do so. I didn’t have the confidence to do this before.

After the event, I was pumped up and keen to find other events where my books would be a good fit. I found a holiday market in November that fit the bill. I remember looking at my table after it was set up and realizing that I had more than enough books to fill a booth! This year has also brought author swag with a killer new sign, book bags, and pins!

The biggest highlight of my author year has to be my 80s metal party book launch that welcomed Back Track (the third book in my core series) to the world. It was a true collaboration between artists: an author (me) and a band (Lynx). They killed it! My local supporters had an amazing time, and copies of Back Track found their way into eager hands.

And…it doesn’t end there. I was asked to include a story in a special Halloween anthology from which all proceeds went to the Calgary food bank. It was a huge accomplishment for me to be invited to submit a story. Then, in November, I launched my first self-published novella, Dead End Track. Attached to the track series, this beauty stands perfectly on its own feet, and the entire process of writing and producing it provided massive validation to my entire book production process and how much it has evolved!

Some other great stuff happened as well. I took on a volunteer role as the local regional representative for the Crime Writers of Canada. I was able to facilitate a couple of local events where authors did some live readings and sold some books! It felt really good to see how comfortable I have become doing my own readings, and to support and encourage other authors.

As the year neared the end, I found myself deep into writing mode. Book four the the Track Trilogy is deep in the editing phase, and book five has been written (first draft)! 2023, and I have two more novellas in the works. 2023 will see the the track series continue and become more than a trilogy! On that note, 2022 also saw the birth and a complete revamp of the film script for the first book (Final Track). Who knows what will happen in the new year!

Thank you for tuning in today, and for reading my posts. This has been therapeutic for me, looking back on the year from the perspective of my author life. I do hope that you will do the same – take a look at everything you have done this year and be proud of yourself.

Now, it’s time to tune out and enjoy the holidays! Happy Holidays!

Dusting off an Old Friend

1 Dec 2022 — Leave a comment

Where has the time gone? I mean, seriously, where?

I don’t know how long it has been since I sat down and enjoyed writing a blog post. I love my blog. And I love each of you for reading it. I apologize for neglecting it, and here I am to breathe new life into it! Thank you for your patience.

Since today is December 1st, I’m feeling festive. I love the Holiday Season. I dug out one of the lovely holiday mugs my dear mother gave me. I like this one. The fancy French look and pasteries is definitely reflective of the things I enjoy. Why not superimpose a photo of my website in the background, because what makes the Holiday Season even better than Holiday Horror?

It has been a busy time, in a good way. There has been a lot of great writing related things going on. October found me delving into the month of Halloween with enthusiasm, as always. There was pumpkin carving, creepy makeup (I pushed my limits this year), handing out of candy (and glow sticks), and horror movie watching.

October also saw the launch of October Blood, an anthology that I was honored to have a story (Candy Lady) in. It was a beautiful project executed by Hawke Haus, and all proceeds went to the Calgary Food Bank.

November was packed full and it was a lot of fun! I was able to get into a fantastic Holiday Market and sell some books! The vibe at the market was incredible. The other vendors were excited and friendly. The patrons were thrilled to be out and shopping for the holidays. I loved interacting with new readers and putting vintage print books into their eager hands. It was quite exciting for me to see how far my collection of books has come and how much my vendor booth has evolved.

November was also NanoWrimo (National Novel Writing Month). I use this month to put my writing at the topmost priority, and I join a community of writers in a super motivating over the top fun boot camp. We gather in the virtual space from all over the world and write together.

The goal is to write 50,000 words, thus finishing the first draft of a novel. I set my goal to finish the entire first draft of another book in the Det. Mahoney series. For me, that means writing closer to 80,000 words. I planned for Nano by prepping aspects of characters, settings, stories, and investigation in October. I also allocated chunks of time in November to allow myself the luxury of writing. I am thrilled to say that I wrote over 100,000 words. The novel came in around 92.000, and I pulled out a horror novella I’d been working on to blast through the 100 K line.

The first time I did Nano, I was struggling to finish my first novel. This year, I had so much fun and am really happy that I stuck to it, worked hard, and have improved my craft and my process.

Now that we are officially into December, I will leave you with a festive treat. I am running the Holiday Gift Guide by Killers and Demons for the entire month of December. It will be posted on my Instagram and FB streams (@killersanddemons). On Day 1, I share one of the most moving books I have ever read. Hope to see you on my socials!

Book Launch Wrap Up

16 Jun 2022 — Leave a comment

The Back Track book launch is winding down to a close.

The 80s Metal Party was EPIC!
Special thank you to LΓΏnx and to the Bon Julie VIP Club! 🀘🎸πŸ”₯

As part of the online launch, Final Track and Back Track are still on sale for ONE MORE DAY!

Final Track ($0.99)
Acid Track ($1.99)

You can still get your copy of the NEW release – Back Track!

SIGNED and GLAM WRAPPED (Local) at the Killers and Demons bookstore.

Or online at the special Back Track LINK!

ROCK ON! 🀘🀘🀘

Finding Flow in the New Year

4 Jan 2022 — Leave a comment

Some of us had time off during the festive season. For those of you who didn’t, I hope you can find time and space to rest and recharge. This year, I took a full week between Christmas and New Year’s. I didn’t allow myself to work on anything book or writing related. I love to write. But being an indie author brings many other things that have to be done, other than writing books. I realized that I quite dedicated to my little book business, and thus I don’t tend to take conscious breaks. Especially at a time when travel and adventure has been off the table.

So, I consciously took a full festive week. It was great. I read a lot. I went on nature hikes with my hubby in the winter cold. I cozied by the fire with festive Christmas beer (brewed by my favorite brewery). I had a tonne of fun in the kitchen! I have a passion for learning how to make French pastry. I have a French pastry idol, and have taken his master class, and bought his book. That poor book sat on my shelf, alone. Over holidays, I opened it up and dove right in. I was quite proud of my execution of the homemade jam-jam style cookie, the ever so sweet chocolate chip cookie, and tiramisu. I love how this type of baking requires a slow, focused pace. I love the art of it, and creating something so divine to the sight and the taste buds!

The festive break was also a time to connect with people that I love. And to spend some real quality time with my hubby. It felt good to be completely away from the computer and the office.

Yesterday, Monday, January 3, marked the intended day of my return to the office. It didn’t happen. I was quite run down from my festive and fun week. I recognized that, and I took a full rest day. This morning, I feel quite different. I feel good, relaxed, and in a full state of flow. I have some hefty and exciting goals for this year to realize some visions. I am overly excited about them. I wanted to fling myself right back in. But, if there is one thing I have recognizedd this past year, it’s that I don’t want to be in a state of force. I want to push myself when I know I need it, want it, and it is right. But, when I know my being needs a break, I want to back off. This is something I have not always been good at. Sometimes, I have been terrible at this.

This year, I seek flow.

I will achieve my goals, bringing my visions to reality. I want to do it in a healthy state of creativity, passion, and oneness with my physical, mental and spiritual beings.

This week I will translate my visions for my projects into concrete actions. I have decided to start with the first four months of the year, as I have some big targets for May. Instead of madly jotting down all the things that need to get done, I will start by reflecting on what these visions truly look like to be in a state of success. What success means to you is the most important thing in defining a goal. I will then identify those tasks for each month and week that will take me to my idea of of success for each of those projects. The whole time, I will seek to be in a state of positive energy, passion fueled creativity, and trust in my talent and comittment.

Sound good? Do you want on this train? Stay tuned here. I’ll share my journey, the steps I am taking, and tips along the way.

A Book Launch Success!

2 Oct 2021 — Leave a comment

It’s official. The Omens Call has successfully launched. And to say that I am excited is an understatement.

The project has been very special to me. It was my first collaboration with another author, and the first anthology that I helped to put together and bring into the world. I loved the entire process. I loved working with another author. When you find the right person to work with, one who is aligned with your work ethic, and who’s creativity you admire, then ‘working’ together doesn’t feel so much like work. I am thrilled to now have collaboration and anthology experience under my belt, and am super charged to continue on in my author path.

Being able to foster the brining to life of fantastic stories by talented authors was such a reward! I love good stories. I love good books. I love sharing stories by other authors. Thus, everything about this project was hugely positive for me.

And, of course, being able to push my limits and write my own horror story was also a challenging and exciting part of this as well.

I am very proud of how this book turned out.

You can grab your copy here, and go here for more details.

My Fiction Writing Journey

14 Jul 2021 — 3 Comments

During the first two years of writing fiction, and attempting to produce a full novel, the process was slow, for me. There were tears. There was a lot of sweat. And…maybe a little blood?

I declared the start of my fiction writing journey to be officially happening in the fall of 2017. There had been a gap between writing and producing my non-fiction work, I had continued to plunge myself into the local writing community, and just attended my favorite, local writing conference. With no particular goal, or project, in mind, I attended a plethora of presentations and discussions, all on topics that intrigued me. I met a local Detective, and was blown away by his presentation on principles of investigations. It stirred within me the passion for true crime books and shows that had been swelling within me for a long time.

I decided I wanted to know if I could write a novel.

I had no idea what that meant, really. But, I knew I wanted to try. It was a strong desired pulsing in my gut. I had to forge forth and let the journey unfold.

I did make a plan, of course. And that plan was derailed from time to time, of course. That is life. But if I’ve learned anything from the ventures and projects that I’ve thrown myself into, it’s how you respond to such derailments that really matters.

I remember the first year of researching and trying to write. At times, I could have sworn I was trying to extract blood from a rock. It took me a while to get it. To be able to let go, let my imagination run wild, and to write freely, words falling on the page. What a glorious moment that was when I realized I’d found my flow.

Now, looking back, and staring at my author page, I am grateful, delighted, hell, I’m ecstatic, that I have continued to set goals and to work hard, and to find my own writing process.

Today, four and a half years after declaring my fiction writing journey has started, I am thrilled to be able to share my author profile here. Eeeeek!!!

First line up: my core series. An 80s metal dark crime series, comprised of two full novels and a novella. The third in the series is planned for launch early 2022.

I have had two short horror stories published! Yes! Someone else loved my story enough to publish it in their works – TWO TIMES! I am also collaborating on a horror anthology that will be released in Oct (The Omens Call). I had no idea I would be working with others, and co-creating an anthology!

Share with me. What journey have you embarked on? Where are you at? What successes have you had? What are you struggling with?

And, please, believe me when I say: YES YOU CAN!

Another Book is HERE!!!

5 Feb 2021 — Leave a comment

I’ve been silent. Well, I haven’t exactly been silent, but I haven’t blogged.

I love writing my blog. I am so happy to be back doing it again.

As the new year opened up, I buckled down and focused. My second novel was basically done. Written. Beta read. Edited. Cover designed. Only the last push through the production side of things remained. It was nitty and gritty work…but it’s done!

I am hard on myself. I am sure a lot of you can relate. Thus, as I took my final peruse through my creation before unleashing it onto the world, I was delighted at how delicious I found it. Yes. Dark. Delicious. Infused with my stamp.

I present to you, Acid Track. A 70s acid rock laced serial killer vs detective dark tale. The sequel to my debut novel Final Track. I am proud of it, and thrilled to be rolling it out.

The cherry on top of the acid rock laced thrilling ride is the PARTAY that I am throwing to celebrate! YOU are invited. It may be virtual, but it will be a sweaty, head-banging rock out night! I hope you can join me from wherever you may be in the world. CLICK On the invite to sign up and participate. From costume contests to song requests for the 80s metal legends NΓΆize BΓΆyz, there are plenty of killer ways to participate in this once-in-a-lifetime-80s-metal-infused-70s-acid-rock-laced-book-launch-partay (or at least until the next book release)!

Acid Track goes live on March 12. Stay tuned for pre-order and party deets, or follow along on FB, Insta, or join Julie Hiner – Author | MailerLite.

Pushing Yourself into New Realms

14 Oct 2020 — 1 Comment

Hello my little demons! How is your Halloween month?

Now that you’re here, with Demon Julie, it just got better! Why? Because I have a Halloween treat for you. Yes. A dark, delicious delight.

When I set up Killers And Demons, I was writing dark crime, thus ‘Killers’. My vision was to branch into horror, thus ‘Demons’. Well, I am thrilled to announce that it has happened sooner than expected. Sometimes in life, when something presents itself, you just need to dig your claws into it and go for it. When I saw a particular call for submissions for a horror anthology, something tingled in my gut. My whole body clenched with excitement. I didn’t know if I was ready, I didn’t know if I could do it, but I knew I had to try. And, my little demons, failure is not doing something and getting a less than desired outcome. Failure is not trying at all.

So – I thrust my entire being into writing the darkest piece of fiction that has ever come out of me (I think, but some might say my dark crime is just as evil). For days on end I thought of nothing else as my creation formed itself from somewhere within me. I would wake up in the night thinking about it. I would get up early and plunge myself into it. Day after day, I was filled with turmoil in creating the best horror story I could for the particular anthology. If I didn’t try, and I mean – if I didn’t try at 200% (or more), then I’d be a disappointed demon – in myself.

Once I released it, I let it go. I thought about it a lot. I allowed myself to think about it and to dream of being in the anthology. But I also moved my focus into my other work and the universe take the story where it was meant to go.

When I found out that my story was indeed to belong in this anthology, I don’t think I even believed it at first. I think I read the email over and over until I realized – yes – my story made it.

After reading the other stories in the book, I am honoured to be part of this amazing creation. And, I am here to tell you that you should TREAT YOURSELF to a copy now! It is a truly indulgent Halloween treat for you. After all, why should the kids have all the fun?

To get your pre-order in, and have your very own copy dropped your way on Oct 19, check out all the juicy details here: https://www.devilsrockpublishing.com/theotherside

To join in the celebration with me, Demon Julie, on Oct 19, RSVP to the to the invitation to a truly horrifying celebration that will be sure to chill your bones. You don’t want to miss out on a chance to ask Daniel Willcocks, a modern horror king, your questions about his creation. You might even get your spine prickled with a creepy reading by Demon Julie. Bring a cocktail, and raise your glass to pushing limits and doing things that simultaneously terrify and excite!

The next time your nerves tingle, your pores bleed sweat, and your stomach clenches in response to something you REALLY want to do, but you have a mound of self-doubt over, think of Demon Julie taking a deep breath and plunging into a new world of story telling. If I can do it, so can you. Take a deep breath and do it (and then come back here and share your story in the comments)!!!

Lots of love from Demon Julie xxxooo