HACK the novel - Pre release reviews

To be published by Harper Davis Publishing, May 2012

When it comes to painting beautiful landscapes of Northern California, Henry Griffin is anything but a hack. But when it comes to everything else, he is a hopeless bumbler, lost in dreams of his childhood sweetheart, hanging out with a shellshocked vet who is unwilling or unable to speak, (or bathe), and volunteering at the local immigrant community center in exchange for tequila and empanadas.  When Hack’s kindergarten paramour appears on the art collector’s scene attached to a rich and famous rock star cum multimedia impresario, our artist realizes that if he could only be rich and famous (like her current boyfriend), they could be together and everything would be all right. Or perhaps, Hack supposes, he might be better off dead.

Such is the logic of the lovesick starving artist in this often drunk and naked suspense that promises to keep readers on the edge of their seats when they’re not rolling in laughter on the floor. Jeb Harrison’s debut novel has all the spunk of a 12-foot crocodile with a stolen slipper:  sharp, slippery, surprising, and strangely loveable. You’ll find yourself wanting to escape into Hack’s world of turpentine and tequila every chance you get!

"Quiet Waters on Bon Tempe"  JS Harrison, 2008 - Courtesy Stan Chervin Collection

Pre-release reviews for HACK

" 'Perception is more important than reality' is one of the oldest unspoken governing truths of Hollywood. In HACK, Jeb Harrison reveals how this rule also applies to the art world, and its painters, agents, and collectors, with comic and bittersweet results.  Struggling painter Henry “Hack” Griffin’s brief reunion with his long time unrequited love, Hadley Scofield  – and with a complex, charmingly off-beat character like Hadley, the reality is always far more complex – sets in motion a series of ever-escalating ruses that eventually exposes how all the characters in the novel are unable to perceive what is real from that which they so strongly want to be real.  Harrison creates a topsy-turvy carousel of disguises, mistaken identities, lies, half-truths, misunderstood motivations, and perhaps even a fable (in the form of a quasi-mythic homeless man) then sets it spinning until it ensnares all of the characters who inhabit the Bay Area’s “see-or-be-art-scene” – from bisexual ex-wives and Marin County divorcees to gay Scottish make-up artists and a rich music video producer and his ex-WWF bodyguard. Harrison gives each of these characters enough credibility to convey that he’s obviously met and known their real counterparts in his life, and an equal amount of hyperbole that makes them both funny and sad, often at the same time.  Reading HACK is like a weekend getaway in Marin County: a very enjoyable way to spend your time." - Golden Globe nominee Stan Chervin, screenwriter of Moneyball

Stan Chervin and unknown actor

"I laughed my ass off, and then at times stopped and felt a sadness, almost like I was actually Henry Griffin, haunted by the ghost of a childhood girlfriend, left wondering how perfect life could have been. Thank you, Jeb Harrison, for letting me read this wonderful story. I can't stop thinking about the book, and that's the only real compliment one writer can give another."
Frank TurnerHollon
author of Life Is A Strange Place which became the movie Barry Munday. Novel "Blood and Circumstance" now in production as a feature film.

“Jeb’s writing is not unlike his signature sound on the bass guitar; under the melodic surface is a rhythmic, soulful groove, with enough space for the almost improvised narrative to breathe and ultimately tell itself with simplicity, energy and Jeb's trademark twisted humor. Jeb also writes like he paints, creating beautiful pictures that have their own subtle spirit and direction. Jeb writes a quintessentially male story here, but inserts a couple of strong, independent, intelligent  female characters into his  protagonist's life to keep him honest and, of course, ultimately save his sorry a**.  Jeb's creativity seeps into everything he does, but this may be a pinnacle; he is one heck of a story teller. Read it!” - Bonnie Hayes, award-winner singer/songwriter, producer and performer.

 Bon wailin'

"I applaud Hack not only because it is riveting and brilliantly written, but because the male author has created two believable female leads who are the ultimate voice of reason, and can lead the bumbling Hack out his life-threatening pickle. I have to say I savored every minute of it!" ~ Patricia V. Davis, bestselling author of "Harlot's Sauce" and "The Diva Doctrine."

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If you can possibly stand more of this shameless self-promotion please visit www.jebharrison.com, where the Renaissance Dork lays it on even thicker!