Austin Poet and author, John Baltisberger, (ARTIFICE OF FLESH, THE CONFIGURATION DISCORDANT) makes his St Rooster Books debut with a powerful kaiju novella full of Jewish mysticism, death, and destruction. When a good man is senselessly murdered by white nationalists during Chicago's Gay pride event, Satan reaches a breaking point with humanity and summons a horrifying golem to make mankind pay for centuries of sin, defying his brothers and sisters in Heaven and the armies of men. BLOOD & MUD is a gut punch of a book that you never saw coming. Also included is an essay on Jewish occultism and mythology, revealing the rich tapestry of mystery and history that inspired Baltisberger and this harrowing novella. Review "This story is spiritual warfare the Righteous weren't expecting. I'll never look at the Devil the same way again...Deep, complex, timely, bloody, muddy, and violent. I took my time reading and enjoying this one." -Jay Wilburn, author of Vampire Christ "A unique horror perspective on traditional mysticism layered with over the top action sequences leavened with moral thinking on the nature of sin and the inherent value in mankind itself." -Paul Lubaczewsky, author of A New Life and Cult of the Gator God
Author
John Baltisberger is an author of speculative and genre fiction that often focuses on Jewish Elements. Through his writing, he has explored themes of mysticism, faith, sin, and personal responsibility. He lives in Austin, TX with his wife and his daughter. Though mostly known for his bizarre blend of Jewish mysticism and splatter, John defies being labeled under any one genre. His work has spanned extreme horror, urban fantasy, science fiction, cosmic horror, epic verse, and he has even written a guide for mindful meditation. While relatively new to the writing community, (his first book was published in 2018) John has become known for his work in verse, having worked in both extremely short works and massive novella-length poetic epics. He continues to work to push himself to explore new avenues of expression and horror literature.
