Rob Blackwell's Blog, page 4
March 24, 2015
Announcing The Forest of Forever Official Soundtrack
It's been an amazing ride for me these past few months. The Forest of Forever was chosen as one of the first Kindle Scout books back in November, and today is its official release.
The reviews are starting to pile up and they've been amazing: "I was hooked from the first page," "All I can say is WOW," "A must read!" "The start of another great series," "The perfect blend of paranormal, suspense and mystery," "Dark urban fantasy at its best."
You can find out what everyone's talking about here. But I've also decided to try something new and release the official soundtrack to The Forest of Forever. I was inspired by my friend Melissa F. Olson, who makes playlists for her novels, which you can check out here.
I've made The Forest of Forever soundtrack into a playlist that you can access on Spotify here. (Signing up for Spotify is free and you can use your Facebook account to log in.)
If you'd rather check out the individual tracks, I've posted them below with links to Amazon Music. Like a movie soundtrack, each selection is chosen for a reason, either for the atmosphere it created or, more likely, a connection between the lyrics and an event in the book. It's also just a great mix. Take a listen!
The Forest of Forever Official Soundtrack:
The Pretender
Foo Fighters The Monster
EminemBoadicea
EnyaHaunted
PoeBreathing Underwater
MetricAin't No Rest for the Wicked
Cage the ElephantLocking Up the Sun
Poets of the FallLessons In Love Neon TreesHoudini
Foster the PeopleBurn
Ellie GouldingI'm Alive
ShinedownHere
VastBurn It Down
AWOLNATIONMonster
Imagine Dragons
March 17, 2015
The wait is over! Welcome to The Forest of Forever…
The Forest of Foreverhas finally arrived!
After five months of waiting, The Forest of Forever is out for those who voted for it through Kindle Scout. Voters should have received an e-mail from Amazon this afternoon alerting them to the book’s release and including a link to download it.
If you haven’t received the e-mail and don’t remember whether you voted for the book, go to this link: https://kindlescout.amazon.com/activity. If The Forest of Forever is on your list, you should be able to download it from that page.
If you didn’t get a chance to vote, you can pre-order The Forest of Forever here. Better yet, you can get it for half price if you enter this code before you buy: SCOUTONE. But hurry, that code can only be used once and expires soon! The Forest of Forever will officially go on sale on March 24 to the general public.
(Note: To take advantage of the code, don’t click the “Pre-order now” button on the right hand side. Look below the “Give as a gift” button to find a link to enter a code, enter SCOUTONE, and you should be able to then buy the book for half price. And feel free to share the code with friends whom you think might like the book. It’s a great deal and I want to share it as widely as possible.)
If you like the book, please, please leave a review! The success of The Forest of Forever depends on the reviews it receives, particularly those in the next few weeks as it officially launches.
That’s it for now. I’m very excited to finally release The Forest of Forever and I hope you’ll love it. But be careful—once you enter, you may never leave…
After five months of waiting, The Forest of Forever is out for those who voted for it through Kindle Scout. Voters should have received an e-mail from Amazon this afternoon alerting them to the book’s release and including a link to download it.
If you haven’t received the e-mail and don’t remember whether you voted for the book, go to this link: https://kindlescout.amazon.com/activity. If The Forest of Forever is on your list, you should be able to download it from that page.
If you didn’t get a chance to vote, you can pre-order The Forest of Forever here. Better yet, you can get it for half price if you enter this code before you buy: SCOUTONE. But hurry, that code can only be used once and expires soon! The Forest of Forever will officially go on sale on March 24 to the general public.
(Note: To take advantage of the code, don’t click the “Pre-order now” button on the right hand side. Look below the “Give as a gift” button to find a link to enter a code, enter SCOUTONE, and you should be able to then buy the book for half price. And feel free to share the code with friends whom you think might like the book. It’s a great deal and I want to share it as widely as possible.)
If you like the book, please, please leave a review! The success of The Forest of Forever depends on the reviews it receives, particularly those in the next few weeks as it officially launches.
That’s it for now. I’m very excited to finally release The Forest of Forever and I hope you’ll love it. But be careful—once you enter, you may never leave…
November 24, 2014
This is it! Your last chance to get "The Forest of Forever" for free through Kindle Scout!
After 28 of the longest days of my life, the first wave of Kindle Scout is now ending. There is just one more day to vote for The Forest of Forever through the program and get it for free if it wins enough support. (For those who don't know, Kindle Scout let's you choose the next bestseller. If it gets enough votes, Amazon will publish and market it, and all those who supported it will get it for free.) If you haven’t voted for The Forest of Forever yet, please do it now by going here! The rest of us will wait until you get back.
Voted yet? Super. Welcome back. There’s something exciting about trying something new, but it’s pretty scary too. Many of you have asked me over the past month, “How’s the book doing?” I’m here to tell you: I don’t know. This is an uncertain task. I don’t know how many votes the book has or how many it needs or what happens when it gets “enough.” It’s like betting on a race where you can’t see the horses, the track, or even the stadium in which it’s being held. Also you're blindfolded.
But I do know at least one thing. The Forest of Forever hit the “hot and trending” list on the very first day the program started, and it’s been there every day since. Only three of the other more than 200 books in the program can say that. I take that as a very good sign. So I don’t know what the result is or when I’ll find out, but I’m tremendously grateful for everyone who has voted. I’m also grateful for all of you who mentioned it to friends, posted it on Facebook or Twitter, or cajoled a spouse or relative into voting. It is very much appreciated. And if you feel like encouraging folks to vote one last time, that would be awesome.
So what’s next? Well, if you haven’t seen it yet, Closed at Dark , a prequel to The Forest of Forever, is now out for Kindle. It's been winning some great reviews already. You can buy it for 99 cents for a limited time or get it for FREE by joining my e-mail list here.
If you are planning to get Closed at Dark, act fast. The offer to get it by joining my e-mail list is expiring in early December.
As for Kindle Scout, as soon as I hear back from Amazon, I’ll let you know what’s happening next. If Amazon buys the book, I understand they may push the publication date back until sometime in December. But the good news is that, as long as you voted for it, you will get it for free and a week before it is officially published. I think you’ll like it. The early response I’ve had on it has been overwhelmingly positive and I’m excited to see what you think.
If it isn’t picked by Kindle Scout, I will roll out The Forest of Forever very quickly. I’ll post another note to let you know when you can buy it.
Until then, we'll just to see how our blindfolded horse race turns out.
November 2, 2014
Announcing my OTHER new novel, "Closed at Dark"
There’s a saying in the publishing world: the best way to market your last book is to write your next one.
As many of you know, my next novel, The Forest of Forever , is currently being featured on Kindle Scout. If it wins enough votes, Amazon will buy it and market it. I don’t mean to put too fine a point on it, but I really want that to happen. It’s not the advance I crave (though that’s nice), it’s the unrivaled marketing power of Amazon. I’d love to see what kind of visibility it could bring to the book.
But marketing a book, particularly one that isn’t even published yet, is tough. Those who have read The Sanheim Chronicles may be inclined to vote for The Forest of Forever, but others might wonder if it’s worth their time. It’s surprisingly hard to get people to click a button, even when there’s no money involved.
So that’s why I’m releasing a totally different book…in a week. I’m pleased to announce that I’m publishing Closed at Dark: A Soren Chase Novella on Nov. 11. I’m also pleased to tell you that I’m giving it to email subscribersfor free.
That’s right. You can get the novel for FREE just by signing up here. For everyone else, it will be available for a limited time at the low, low price of 99 cents, after which it will go back to its regular price of $2.99.
As most of you can infer from the title, Closed at Dark and The Forest of Forever are related and share the same main character, Soren Chase. The Forest of Forever is the start of a new series featuring Soren, but Closed at Dark is a self-contained prequel set about six months before the events of the main novel.
The novella will help shed light on some of the issues Soren is grappling with in the main novel and provide a glimpse of many of the main characters. That said, Closed at Dark can be enjoyed entirely on its own merits, as can The Forest of Forever (the two are related, but not dependent on each other. I want anyone who picks up either one to enjoy it.)
Here’s a brief description of Closed at Dark:
“When a mysterious white-haired man tries to kidnap Sara Ignatius’ son and then vanishes before her eyes, Sara knows there’s only one person who can help her: Soren Chase, one of the country’s best supernatural investigators. For Soren, the case is personal. Sara’s fiancé was John Townes, Soren’s best friend who died in a supernatural attack several years earlier. Soren will do anything to save Sara’s son, but he must act fast. Because the kidnapper has a mission of his own, and he’s willing to destroy anyone who gets in his way…”
Closed at Dark is technically a novella, but it’s not exactly short. I like to think of it as an appetizer to the main course, but one so good it could be a meal of its own.
Take a look at the awesome cover below and be sure to sign up here to get the novella for free. And while you’re at it, be sure to vote for The Forest of Forever through Kindle Scout. If it wins enough support, you can get that for free too. Two great novels for one nonexistent price. It doesn’t get better than that.
As many of you know, my next novel, The Forest of Forever , is currently being featured on Kindle Scout. If it wins enough votes, Amazon will buy it and market it. I don’t mean to put too fine a point on it, but I really want that to happen. It’s not the advance I crave (though that’s nice), it’s the unrivaled marketing power of Amazon. I’d love to see what kind of visibility it could bring to the book.
But marketing a book, particularly one that isn’t even published yet, is tough. Those who have read The Sanheim Chronicles may be inclined to vote for The Forest of Forever, but others might wonder if it’s worth their time. It’s surprisingly hard to get people to click a button, even when there’s no money involved.
So that’s why I’m releasing a totally different book…in a week. I’m pleased to announce that I’m publishing Closed at Dark: A Soren Chase Novella on Nov. 11. I’m also pleased to tell you that I’m giving it to email subscribersfor free.
That’s right. You can get the novel for FREE just by signing up here. For everyone else, it will be available for a limited time at the low, low price of 99 cents, after which it will go back to its regular price of $2.99.
As most of you can infer from the title, Closed at Dark and The Forest of Forever are related and share the same main character, Soren Chase. The Forest of Forever is the start of a new series featuring Soren, but Closed at Dark is a self-contained prequel set about six months before the events of the main novel.
The novella will help shed light on some of the issues Soren is grappling with in the main novel and provide a glimpse of many of the main characters. That said, Closed at Dark can be enjoyed entirely on its own merits, as can The Forest of Forever (the two are related, but not dependent on each other. I want anyone who picks up either one to enjoy it.)
Here’s a brief description of Closed at Dark:
“When a mysterious white-haired man tries to kidnap Sara Ignatius’ son and then vanishes before her eyes, Sara knows there’s only one person who can help her: Soren Chase, one of the country’s best supernatural investigators. For Soren, the case is personal. Sara’s fiancé was John Townes, Soren’s best friend who died in a supernatural attack several years earlier. Soren will do anything to save Sara’s son, but he must act fast. Because the kidnapper has a mission of his own, and he’s willing to destroy anyone who gets in his way…”
Closed at Dark is technically a novella, but it’s not exactly short. I like to think of it as an appetizer to the main course, but one so good it could be a meal of its own.
Take a look at the awesome cover below and be sure to sign up here to get the novella for free. And while you’re at it, be sure to vote for The Forest of Forever through Kindle Scout. If it wins enough support, you can get that for free too. Two great novels for one nonexistent price. It doesn’t get better than that.
October 27, 2014
Voting has started for Kindle Scout! Please nominate "The Forest of Forever!"
Voting has started for The Forest of Forever through Amazon’s Kindle Scout program!
For those who didn’t see the last post, Kindle Scout allows readers to “nominate” what books they’d like to see Amazon publish and market. Anyone who nominates a novel that Amazon later selects will receive that novel for free.
The Forest of Foreveris in the first batch of available titles. All you need to do is follow this simple process:
1. Click here2. Sign on to Amazon (if you haven't already)3. Click the "nominate" button just below and to the right of the cover.4. Immediately tell everyone you've ever met to do the same thing.
Simple, right? It only takes a few seconds. While you’re there, be sure to read the prologue to the novel and check out the short interview with me about the larger series. And more information about the novel you’re nominating will be coming soon. In fact, I may have a pretty big surprise in store for everyone who signs up for my e-mail list here.
Thank you so much for voting for The Forest of Forever and helping to spread the word!
October 19, 2014
Announcing The Forest of Forever by Rob Blackwell and its involvement with Amazon's Kindle Scout program
Writing this has been harder than working on my novel for the past year. I have so many things I want to tell you at once, I don’t know where to start. I want to spit it all out at the same time: I have a new novel! It’s part of a new series! It’s also part of a new experimental Kindle program! And, hey, you can potentially get it for free!
That’s a lot of exclamation points.
So let’s slow it down. First things first: I’m proud, relieved, excited and anxious to announce my new novel The Forest of Forever, the start of a new series about paranormal investigator Soren Chase.
If you look at the bottom of this post, you can see the cover art. Here are the official details on what it’s about:
“Soren Chase’s life was shattered eight years ago after encountering a supernatural being that left three friends dead and him branded as a murderer. Since then, he’s become a paranormal investigator, facing off against a host of deadly creatures. “But his investigation into the haunted Reapoke woods may be his most dangerous case yet. Hired to find a missing girl and unlock the forest’s secrets, what he discovers is far darker than he imagines and forces him to confront his tragic past.”
The novel is a combination of urban fantasy, mystery and suspense, very similar in tone to The Sanheim Chronicles. If you liked those novels, I really think you’re going to like this one. I’ve been hard at work on this novel for more than a year and I’m very excited to finally release it.
Which brings me to my next point: I need your help to get it out there. I don’t need your money and I don’t even need you to buy anything. I just need your vote. If we work together and win this, you will receive The Forest of Forever absolutely free!
Beginning Oct. 27, Amazon will start a program called “Kindle Scout,” which crowd-sources new books for publication. Authors unveil the cover and the first chapter for free and invite Amazon readers to nominate ones they think are promising. If enough people nominate a book, Amazon will buy it from the author and market the hell out of it. As a bonus, all those who nominated it will receive the book for free.
I’m very excited to say The Forest of Forever is in the first wave of books that will be part of Kindle Scout. Starting Monday, Oct. 27, you can go hereto read the prologue and nominate the book, as well as see a short interview with yours truly. (That link will not lead you anywhere until Oct. 27.) The book will be on the site for just 30 days and if it receives enough votes, Amazon will publish it. Most importantly, Amazon will promote the book (my least favorite activity) and it has the potential to be seen by a ton of readers.
You may have questions. How many nominations does it take to “win”? How many other books are up for nomination? How soon after this process will the novel be available? Is Elvis alive? The answer to all of them is I don’t know (well, I know the answer to the last one, but I will take that secret to the grave). All I know is that I want to get as many nominations as possible. And to do that, I need your help. To put it simply: I can’t do this without you. I need to spread the word as far and wide as possible.
When voting opens, I’d appreciate if you could take a few seconds to nominate The Forest of Foreverand encourage your friends or social networks to do the same. I really believe that together we can clear whatever bar Amazon is set. We can make this happen.
Best of all, we’re not asking for anybody’s money or even any time. And if the book is chosen by Amazon, you and everyone else who nominates it gets it for free. This is a win-win deal.
I have a lot more to say and more secrets to spill, but this post is already long. To learn more, please join my e-mail newsletter here. I’ve got a special reward coming soon for those that do.
I hope you’ll join me in this effort. Without any further ado, I leave you with the cover for The Forest of Forever, once again done by the talented Travis Pennington. Tell me what you think in the comments below!
That’s a lot of exclamation points.
So let’s slow it down. First things first: I’m proud, relieved, excited and anxious to announce my new novel The Forest of Forever, the start of a new series about paranormal investigator Soren Chase.
If you look at the bottom of this post, you can see the cover art. Here are the official details on what it’s about:
“Soren Chase’s life was shattered eight years ago after encountering a supernatural being that left three friends dead and him branded as a murderer. Since then, he’s become a paranormal investigator, facing off against a host of deadly creatures. “But his investigation into the haunted Reapoke woods may be his most dangerous case yet. Hired to find a missing girl and unlock the forest’s secrets, what he discovers is far darker than he imagines and forces him to confront his tragic past.”
The novel is a combination of urban fantasy, mystery and suspense, very similar in tone to The Sanheim Chronicles. If you liked those novels, I really think you’re going to like this one. I’ve been hard at work on this novel for more than a year and I’m very excited to finally release it.
Which brings me to my next point: I need your help to get it out there. I don’t need your money and I don’t even need you to buy anything. I just need your vote. If we work together and win this, you will receive The Forest of Forever absolutely free!
Beginning Oct. 27, Amazon will start a program called “Kindle Scout,” which crowd-sources new books for publication. Authors unveil the cover and the first chapter for free and invite Amazon readers to nominate ones they think are promising. If enough people nominate a book, Amazon will buy it from the author and market the hell out of it. As a bonus, all those who nominated it will receive the book for free.
I’m very excited to say The Forest of Forever is in the first wave of books that will be part of Kindle Scout. Starting Monday, Oct. 27, you can go hereto read the prologue and nominate the book, as well as see a short interview with yours truly. (That link will not lead you anywhere until Oct. 27.) The book will be on the site for just 30 days and if it receives enough votes, Amazon will publish it. Most importantly, Amazon will promote the book (my least favorite activity) and it has the potential to be seen by a ton of readers.
You may have questions. How many nominations does it take to “win”? How many other books are up for nomination? How soon after this process will the novel be available? Is Elvis alive? The answer to all of them is I don’t know (well, I know the answer to the last one, but I will take that secret to the grave). All I know is that I want to get as many nominations as possible. And to do that, I need your help. To put it simply: I can’t do this without you. I need to spread the word as far and wide as possible.
When voting opens, I’d appreciate if you could take a few seconds to nominate The Forest of Foreverand encourage your friends or social networks to do the same. I really believe that together we can clear whatever bar Amazon is set. We can make this happen.
Best of all, we’re not asking for anybody’s money or even any time. And if the book is chosen by Amazon, you and everyone else who nominates it gets it for free. This is a win-win deal.
I have a lot more to say and more secrets to spill, but this post is already long. To learn more, please join my e-mail newsletter here. I’ve got a special reward coming soon for those that do.
I hope you’ll join me in this effort. Without any further ado, I leave you with the cover for The Forest of Forever, once again done by the talented Travis Pennington. Tell me what you think in the comments below!
April 27, 2014
"A Soul to Steal" is Now on Audiobook – Here’s How You Get it for Free!
I’m very pleased to announce the release of A Soul to Steal for audiobook, narrated by actor Brian J. Gill. If you want to know what Quinn, Kate, Janus and Lord Halloween sound like, you need to check this out. Brian delivers a bravura performance that – especially when Lord Halloween spoke – gave even me the creeps (in a good way).
Here’s the best part: If you aren’t currently an Audible member, you can get the audiobook for free. Just follow these simple steps:
Click here to find the A Soul to Steal Audible page and click the big FREE button next to the audiobook. After signing in with your Amazon ID, you will receive a 30-day risk-free trial to Audible, which includes the purchase of A Soul to Steal! (Note: If A Soul to Steal is the first audiobook you purchase, Brian and I receive a bonus, but only if you stay a member for at least 61 days.)Listen to the book and review it here. We’d really appreciate your review!If you cancel within 30 days, you will not be charged, but you will keep the audiobook, which can be accessed on your Kindle Fire, tablet or smart phone (including iPhones and iPads). You may want to stick around, however. Band of Demons is coming to audiobook very soon and it sounds fantastic.
That’s it! If you want to check out the audiobook for A Soul to Steal for free, this is your chance. No fuss, no muss, and it’s easy to cancel if you decide not to continue as an Audible member (and still keep the audiobook forever). I hope you’ll take advantage of this great opportunity.
If you already are an Audible member, I hope you’ll buy A Soul to Steal.
As I said before, Brian is a terrific narrator. In addition to being a close friend, Brian is a long-time theatre actor who has appeared in productions at the Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Milwaukee Shakespeare Company, Goodman Theatre, Ford’s Theater and even The Globe in London, to name just a few. He brings this novel to life with some terrific voices and accents (you have to hear Janus to truly appreciate him!).What are you waiting for? Click here to download it now!
April 12, 2014
Spring Break Sale!
Now through April 18, you can get The Sanheim Chronicles on sale on Kindle!
A Celtic legend and "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" collide in The Sanheim Chronicles, a trilogy that deftly combines urban fantasy, mystery, and suspense.
Book One, A Soul to Steal, is just 99 cents for a limited time: "When I first downloaded 'A Soul to Steal' I had no idea I would get sucked into a series that would fire my imagination and twist mythologies so thoroughly."
Buy it here!
Book Two: Band of Demons, available for just $2.99 temporarily, has earned rave reviews for its "plot twists that will leave you gasping for air."
Buy it here
Book Three: Give the Devil His Due has been called "a masterfully crafted story" and a "stellar conclusion to one of the best trilogies I've ever read... I'm still reeling from the ending."
Buy it here
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November 12, 2013
Six Reasons Why "Sleepy Hollow," Episode 7 Was the Show's Best Yet ("Midnight Ride")
I rarely want to watch a TV show twice. Unlike movies, some of which I will watch over and over, TV is largely disposable, unless it's something like "Buffy the Vampire Slayer." Even rarer still is an episode of TV that is SO good I want to watch it again immediately.
Yet Monday's episode of "Sleepy Hollow" was just such an episode. "The Midnight Ride" highlighted everything that is so enjoyable about the series as a whole and immediately became the best episode of the series' brief history to date. Here's why:
Now I have a shotgun. Ho, Ho, Ho.1) The Horseman is back!"The Midnight Ride" featured the triumphant and kick-ass return of the Headless Horseman. In my last blog, I talked about how smart it was to keep the Horseman in reserve, as featuring him every week would quickly prove tiresome. After teasing his return for two episodes, "Sleepy Hollow" showcased just what a fantastic villain the Horseman really is. He used automatic weapons, threw his axe at a main character and -- in addition to taking several heads -- later used them as makeshift Jack O' Lanterns. He was intimidating, violent and scary as hell. I loved every moment he was on screen.
2) The humor was better than ever
Every episode of "Sleepy Hollow" has featured some stand-out touches of humor, most of them based around Ichabod Crane's adjustment to the 21st Century. But this episode, in addition to being both scary and exciting, was also laugh-out-loud funny. Ichabod's confrontation with a museum guide discussing Paul Revere's "Midnight Ride" was the highlight, with the 18th Century former soldier ranting, "He didn't shout 'The British Were Coming.' As we were all subjects of the Crown, that wouldn't have been very helpful, would it?" Yet there were also terrific exchanges about the relative difficulty of getting to London, "That's a three month journey by sea" and his first accidental encounter with Internet porn. The conversation about Thomas Jefferson was also excellent, as was Ichabod's conclusion: "You never really know people, do you?"
3) John Cho returns
Dead Man Walking and Shining FlashlightThis episode featured two villains. While the Horseman was riding once more, John Cho's dead Officer Brooks was also back. In addition to frightening Detective Morales, "You'll have to choose a side," he also confronted Abbie Mills. What makes Cho's character great is his reluctant nature and the audience's inability to assess his true loyalties. He makes it very clear he doesn't want to work for the bad guys, but feels compelled to do so. He even justifies himself that he's trying to "save Abbie." Figuring out exactly what he's up to and why is an ongoing mystery, and one I hope we don't solve quickly.
Have severed head, will travel.4) Captain Irving finally clues inFrom the show's beginning, the writers have played it coy with Orlando Jones' Captain Irving. One minute he's insisting that none of this is possible and the next he's approving some crazy scheme by Abbie and Ichabod. I've always been secretly convinced Irving knows damn well what's going on, he just didn't want to admit it. But that guess turned out to be wrong. After dismissing the existence of the Headless Horseman, Irving later comes face-to-face with the Hessian cavalry officer -- and in the process becomes a believer. That changes some of the nature of the show, and undoubtedly will make Irving a more integral part of what's going on.
5) The Midnight Ride
Aside from the Headless Horseman and the names, "Sleepy Hollow" has little in common with the short story that inspired it. So it's nice to see an homage to "The Legend of the Sleepy Hollow" included in an episode. Ichabod's final ride against the Horseman was directly drawn from Washington Irving's story and even if it only lasted a couple minutes, it was still awesome.
"It's not my head, but I'll take it anyway."6) The Ending
The showdown between Ichabod, Abbie and the Headless Horseman was expertly done. How do you defeat Death itself? The show wisely doesn't offer up a solution to the problem, but instead focuses on a way around it. The finale, which involved the Horseman trying to reclaim his head, was tense, funny and dramatic. Exactly like the show itself.
Shameless plug: If you like "Sleepy Hollow," check out my novels, which feature the Headless Horseman in an entirely new mythology.
November 11, 2013
Guilt and Monsters -- Review of Sleepy Hollow Episode 6 "The Sin Eater"
Half the fun of a show based around a monster is the anticipation of its arrival. Indeed, most horror movies and TV shows go right down hill once the monster actually shows up.
So the writers and producers of "Sleepy Hollow" have played it smart in letting the Headless Horseman -- whose presence is conjured up by the title "Sleepy Hollow" -- keep a relatively low profile. Beyond a feature role in the pilot episode, the Horseman has been seen only in dream sequences and one brief teaser at the end of an episode, which concluded with him strolling out of a river (maybe he needed a bath). This has frustrated a few fans, but overall allowed the series to establish one clear fact: this show is NOT about the Headless Horseman. He's the villain and he's not going to show up every episode.
"I'm just dying to get some new puns."This is vitally important because familiarity is a poison that kills any sense of tension. Just ask any horror franchise villain, like Freddy Krueger, Jason Vorhees or Mike Myers. The more you see them, the less scary they get. Keeping the Horseman away has let viewers anxiously anticipate his arrival in a way they never would if he popped up all the time.
Since the finale of Episode 5, the writers have been teasing us, however, with the Horseman's return. In Episode 6, "The Sin Eater," we are told again and again that the Horseman will return "tonight," but aside from a brief appearance in Abbie Mills' dream, we never actually see him. Yet his presence hovers over the entire episode, letting it build an extremely satisfying narrative tension.
Perhaps just as important, "The Sin Eater" breaks with the rest of the series by forgoing the usual monster-of-the-week in favor of a more internal struggle. Technically, there's a new monster in the form of Ichabod Crane's British commander, but he's not the point of the episode. Instead, it focuses on Ichabod's guilt over the death of a freed slave when he still lived in the 18th Century. Ordered to torture Arthur Bernard until he reveals the name of the treasonous "Cicero," who is writing tracts calling for the Colonies to rebel, Crane reluctantly obeys before finally setting him free. What he doesn't count on, however, are the forces that are hunting both Ichabod and Bernard.
For a show normally about evil in an external form, like a witch or a Native American demon, it was an interesting twist for it to instead delve into the evil that lies in a man's heart. Ichabod's fate turned not on whether he could defeat an external force, but rather forgive himself for the choices he made.
This is Ichabod's really hot wife."The Sin Eater" was also notable, in addition to the appearance of Fringe's John Noble as a recurring character, for its spectacular acting. Simply put, this episode couldn't have worked without some forceful performances from Tom Mison (Ichabod) and Nicole Beharie as Abbie Mills. Abbie's efforts to save Ichabod, as well as convince him not to sacrifice himself to stop the Horseman, were incredibly moving. Technically, the characters have only known each other for a few weeks, so a scene like this could have been less than credible, but its due to the strength of Beharie and Mison that it works. Katia Winter also turns in a terrific performance as Katrina Van Tassel. My only wish is that the writers give her more scenes to appear in as when she does, she is electrifying.Overall, despite the fact that the Horseman didn't show up yet, this was an excellent episode that ably showed off the writers and cast's ability to make us care about the characters even when they aren't fighting the Headless Horseman or other monsters. Or, more precisely, the show makes us care when they are fighting the demons inside us all.
