Rock Gods & Messy Monsters by Diane Hatz released last week in the satire, humor, absurdist, contemporary fiction genre.

Rock Gods & Messy Monsters is one woman’s search for herself among the blood-soaked walls, dangling body parts, and alien-hatched explosions inside Acht Records.

It’s the 1990s. Alex arrives to work at Acht, her improbable blonde hair streaked stress magenta and anger black. Her first duty is to wipe blood off her boss’s walls, to clean up his blood vessel explosion. It goes downhill from there.


On the surface, Rock Gods & Messy Monsters is a story about life inside an entertainment company. A cast of comedic characters exemplifies the inner workings of Acht, where power and greed mask incompetence.

A series of escapades involve Alex, a hard-working, lower-level employee desperately trying to get promoted. When she does, she realizes her dream is a nightmare. Corporate executives are busy working with aliens to manufacture a half-human, half-robot superstar. At the same time, one of the doubly-named Senior Senior Executive Presidents attempts to overthrow the Deity in charge.

Underneath and between the lines of exploding body parts and brain extractions, Rock Gods & Messy Monsters is a cautionary tale. It reminds us that our dreams can be illusions, and learning who we really are takes courage and a commitment to self-love.

For more information – www.rockgodsandmessymonsters.com  

Buy: https://mybook.to/rockgods-hatz

The blood didn’t bother Alex but cleaning it up made her angry.

“Damn it,” she cursed aloud as she surveyed the red stained walls and coagulated mounds of Langley ooze around her boss’ corner office.

Alex returned to her desk, her wildly improbable blonde hair already streaked stress magenta and anger black. It was coming to an end; Alex had to get out of her job. But with the worldwide recession and lines of job applicants she saw every day on her way into the building, she was lucky to have a job, especially in a major record company.

Alex put her backpack on the floor and unzipped the side of her head. She reached in and pulled out her brain, placing the throbbing gray matter in the customized, faux crystal cerebrum urn Acht Records had supplied her with her first day at the company. She had fought the procedure at first, refused to sign the Cerebrum Extraction Release form, but with times being as hard as they were, and with the knowledge that she had spent over six months unemployed before being offered this job, Alex knew she had no choice.

And after wandering through the homogenous maze of Acht, up and down forty floors of identical gray hallways and glaring fluorescent lights, she had realized she would be better off if she removed all traces of thought and intelligence before commencing employment at the company. 

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Diane Hatz worked at major and indie record companies, managed a band, and freelanced as a music publicist. She is co-founder of The Relay, a fanzine on The Who, which is in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. She’s attended thousands of concerts.

Diane has a Masters in Creative Writing and is currently focused on writing fiction. Her book Rock Gods & Messy Monsters is currently available from most online retailers.  Her substack “Next Draft with Diane Hatz” is a newsletter for creatives looking inward. And some writing stuff.  

During her sometimes-surreal career, Diane founded the nonprofit Change Food, worked to shut down factory farms, organized & spoke at major TED/TEDx events, and executive produced The Meatrix, a Webby Award winner. She has studied with many spiritual teachers, including The Dalai Lama.

In late 2020, after 30 years living in downtown Manhattan and the East Village, Diane moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico. When not at her computer creating, you can find her hiking, road tripping, or breathing in all the beauty the Southwest has to offer.

Please tell us why you wrote this book.

I wrote Rock Gods & Messy Monsters for a couple of reasons. First, I write because I have to write. Just like we all need to breathe, I must write. I also wrote the book because I worked in an insane corporate environment and needed an outlet for my angst and frustration.

I started writing Rock Gods in the 1990s while working in a major New York City record company. I loved rock and alternative music growing up. And I didn’t want to work in publishing because I didn’t think it wise to work in the field in which I wanted to have my ultimate career – so I decided to work in music.

I had fantasies of the music industry being glamorous, creative, and full of parties and fun. I couldn’t have been more wrong. Okay, there were a lot of parties, and I did have a lot of fun at events outside the office, but the day-to-day office job was not something I was cut out for.

I found the work and my time there dehumanizing, stifling, and uncreative. I also ended up with a boss who was a tyrant. Almost anything was accepted In the 1990s entertainment industry. I was screamed at, demeaned, and fired every so often but then given more work to do, so I never knew where I stood with my job. 

I went to forty-four job interviews only to discover my boss was not agreeing to let me go. He had a lot of power. It wasn’t until I threatened sexual harassment that I was miraculously offered three jobs in one week. This was way before the MeToo movement.

Writing Rock Gods & Messy Monsters saved me from that insanity. Writing it was hard work at times, but it also became a source of joy. Giving birth to characters that end up taking on a life of their own is an unforgettable experience. 

I hope the book will help at least one other person who feels trapped in a corporate environment and longs to get out.

http://www.goddessfish.comFor anyone interested, I have a Substack newsletter called Next Draft with Diane Hatz, where I’m slowly going through the scenes in the book and explaining what the symbolism means. I’m also publishing articles about indie publishing and promotion.

For more information:

www.rockgodsandmessymonsters.com

https://dianehatz.substack.com/

Facebook Author page – https://fb.me/dianehatz.author

Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/wholehealthygroup/

Ko-fi (for donations) – https://ko-fi.com/dianehatz 

LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/company/wholehealthygroup

Pinterest – https://www.pinterest.com/dianemhatz

TikTok – https://www.tiktok.com/@wholehealthygroup

Twitter – https://twitter.com/dianehatz

YouTube – https://bit.ly/YT-RGMM

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This post is part of a tour. The tour dates can be found here: 

https://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2022/08/nbtm-rock-gods-and-messy-monsters-by.html

GIVEAWAY INFORMATION 

a $20 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC 

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/28e4345f4365

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http://www.goddessfish.com