Release Date: 08/18/12
Paperback/e-book
299 pages
Summary from Goodreads:
Fourteen-year-old Matt Archer spends his days studying Algebra, hanging out with his best friend and crushing on the Goddess of Greenhill High, Ella Mitchell. To be honest, he thinks his life is pretty lame until he discovers something terrifying on a weekend camping trip at the local state park.
Monsters are real. And living in his backyard.
But that's not the half of it. After Matt is forced to kill a strange creature to save his uncle, he finds out that the weird knife he took from his uncle's bag has a secret, one that will change Matt's life. The knife was designed with one purpose: to hunt monsters. And it's chosen Matt as its wielder.
Now Matt's part of a world he didn't know existed, working with a covert military unit dedicated to eliminating walking nightmares. Faced with a prophecy about a looming dark war, Matt soon realizes his upcoming Algebra test is the least of his worries.
His new double life leaves Matt wondering which is tougher: hunting monsters or asking Ella Mitchell for a date?
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About the Author
Kendra C. Highley lives in north Texas with her husband and two children. She also serves as staff to two self-important and high-powered cats. This, according to the cats, is her most important job. She believes chocolate is a basic human right, running a 10k is harder than it sounds, and that everyone should learn to drive a stick-shift. She loves monsters, vacations, baking and listening to bad electronica.
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Giveaway Details:
Grand prize is a Nook Simple Touch and a $25 B&N card plus a paperback copy of Matt Archer: Monster Hunter. (US only)
(3) 1st place winners get a $10 Amazon Card plus a paperback copy of Matt Archer: Monster Hunter. (Open Internationally)
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**Excerpt***
Post Attack Scene with Uncle Mike:
I woke up Saturday morning with a nasty taste in my mouth—hot chocolate and puke. I rolled over, sliding and squeaking on Mike’s black leather couch, and had to peel my left arm away from the cushions. The grain of the leather was imprinted on my skin. On top of that, Mike only had two extra blankets, one of them looking like it’d never been used, and since we’d deserted our sleeping bags at the camp grounds, I’d ended up freezing my butt off most of the night. These are the dangers of sleeping over at a bachelor’s house.
“He needs a girlfriend,” I grumbled.
Mike responded by snoring like a T-Rex upstairs. It was only nine and we’d talked until four. Old guys needed more sleep, so I let him be, heading off to brush my fuzzy teeth. That was a grosser process than normal, so I threw my toothbrush away afterward, hoping it wouldn’t crawl out of the trashcan on its own.
Puke-fest overnight or not, it was breakfast time, and my stomach growled right on cue. I went to the kitchen, searched every cabinet and only came up with a bottle opener, two cans of chili, and cocktail onions.
“You need a girlfriend, Mike,” I said, a little louder this time.
He came down the stairs, the wooden steps creaking under his weight, still wearing flannel pj bottoms and an old t-shirt with some cartoon called Ren and Stimpy on it.
“I’ll keep that in mind. What’cha looking for?”
“Cereal or something else normal for breakfast,” I said.
Mike dug the skim milk out of the fridge and sniffed it. He didn’t make a face, so it must’ve still been good. After pouring two glasses of milk, he dumped in some grey powder and stirred it up.
“Bottoms up,” he said, thrusting the glass at me.
“Chocolate milk? How old is that stuff? It looks like dust.” Sludge floated around in my glass. “You know, Mom’ll kill you with a fork if you poison me.”
Mike’s face got serious. “It’s a protein shake. We’ve got to put a little muscle on you. No more cereal, Matt. You need to eat like a man.”
A cold bead of sweat ran down my back. “You meant it…last night. I’m really going to basic, and I’m really gonna have to kill monsters.”
Mike nodded. “Drink up. Then we’ll talk about a fitness regimen.”
“Uncle Mike, this is just stupid. Brent’s the jock,” I said. “I can run fast; that’s about it.”
Mike put his shake down on the counter and looked me square in the eyes. “Everything happens for a reason. The knife chose you on purpose, which means you can do this. You have to.”
His expression was pride mixed with worry, but mostly pride.
I chugged the whole nasty shake in one go.
