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Rock Gods & Messy Monsters Kindle Edition

by Diane Hatz (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 29 ratings
See all formats and editions

"Everything Everywhere All at Once" meets "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy"
(...in a 1990s record company!)

Aliens have hatched a rockstar. Brain extractions, falling body parts, and blood-vessel explosions are the norm. Alex’s dream job has turned into a nightmare.

What should she do?

It's the 1990s. Alex arrives at Acht Records, her improbable blonde hair streaked stress magenta and anger black. Her first duty is to wipe blood off her boss's walls. It goes downhill from there.

Rock Gods & Messy Monsters is a humorous story about life inside a record company. Yet between the lines of satire and nods to science fiction, the book is a thought-provoking female narrative and social commentary on the corporate world.

Join Alex as she weaves through a comedic cast of characters and down crazed corridors of power, where her boss attempts to thwart her at every turn.

The 1990s New York City music scene never seemed so alien, yet so familiar.

Carol Anderson from the US Review of Books captures its essence perfectly: "The novel is so perverse it causes one to laugh out loud at the deranged storyline and detailed descriptions. This is truly satire at its best."

Scroll up, click, and buy Rock Gods & Messy Monsters today!

"Satirical, zany, hilarious—a gut-punching commentary about the inner workings of the music industry, its power complexes, and power plays." –The BookLife Prize

Latest Accolades!

  • Finalist, 2022 Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Award (Adult Fiction Humor)
  • Recommended Review – The US Review of Books
  • Finalist, The Wishing Shelf Book Awards
  • IndieBRAG Medallion 2023 Honoree
  • Top 30 Impressive Indie Books of 2022 from Independent Book Review
  • Most frequently wish listed book on BookBub (Dec 2022)
  • #1 Hot New Release Amazon Kindle in Absurdist Fiction, Pop Culture and Pop Culture Music (Sept 2022)
  • Starred Review, Independent Book Review (Oct 2022)

(Originally published as Rock Gods of Acht)
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  1. Print length
    234 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publication date
    September 7, 2022
  5. File size
    3555 KB
  6. Page Flip
    Enabled
  7. Word Wise
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  8. Enhanced typesetting
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From the Publisher

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review text on blue background

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Independent Book Review

Midwest Book Review

Kirkus Reviews

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From Author Diane Hatz

Rock Gods & Messy Monsters is an absurdist adventure into the insanity that can exist in any workplace. Though fiction, it's based on my experiences working in the 1990s music industry.

The book is a humorous, entertaining read that appeals to anyone who enjoys satire and pop culture. It's equally enjoyed by readers who've dreamed of leaving their jobs (or have!) because of oppressive work environments.

A close friend recently quit her job after finishing the book. Two other friends have been inspired to pursue their writing and are working on their own novels.

May Rock Gods & Messy Monsters help you pursue your passion and dreams!

With gratitude,

Diane

woman with pink hair on blue background and headphones on

"Doing nothing can be difficult, especially when there was work to do, but Zena excelled."

Q&A with Author Diane Hatz

What is your book about?

Rock Gods & Messy Monsters is one woman’s discovery that her dream job at a 90s record company is actually a nightmare of blood vessel explosions, brain extractions, rockstar aliens, and executives clawing for power - and her determination to get out as her boss thwarts her at every turn. It’s been challenging to pinpoint the book’s exact genre, but I’m currently leaning toward humorous science fiction and fantasy. Anyone who enjoys offbeat comedy, witty satire, quirky laugh-out-loud writing, and fast fun reads will like Rock Gods.

You can read the book for pure entertainment and go on a hilarious roller coaster ride through a crazed record company. The book also covers the treatment of women in the workplace, and the struggle lower-level employees face in large corporations.

Is the book relevant in 2023?

The book is more than relevant today. Rock Gods explains why someone would quit their job. I’m not saying Alex did, though - you’ll have to read the book to find out! It shows how the corporate environment can corrupt anyone and details how support staff are often treated. After I got such positive feedback on the novel, I re-read the book after fourteen years. I saw that the book is not about the music industry - that’s the vehicle for the message. The book is about the search for meaning and purpose in life - and how we need courage and a commitment to self-love to change.

Are you working on any other books?

I’ve been working on another novel for close to two years. About six months ago, it dawned on me that I was actually writing a sequel to Rock Gods & Messy Monsters, so my next book (it doesn’t have a name yet) will reunite us with Alex twenty years later. There will also be a third book in the series, and I’m thinking about side novellas and short stories to dig into various scenes and characters in more depth. I’m hoping to have the next book out mid-2024. Just go to rockgodsandmessymonsters.com and sign up for my email list. You’ll get details on the various ways we can stay in touch. Thanks!

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The novel is so perverse it causes one to laugh out loud at the deranged storyline and detailed descriptions, offering an easy-to-read yarn for those looking for something different. This is truly satire at its best." -- Carol Anderson, US Review of Books

"Rock Gods & Messy Monsters by Diane Hatz is a bullet-hell critique of corporate and mass culture by way of Theodor Adorno filtered through the whimsy and humor of writers like Terry Pratchett and Kurt Vonnegut....The best kind of absurdism; the kind that wears a veneer of the surreal while having the grisly guts of reality right underneath." -- Independent Book Review

"Modern creative writing classes looking for discussion points in experimental literary styles will find Rock Gods & Messy Monsters promises many lively debates about the elements of social examination and the impact of truly creative writing." --Midwest Book Review

"Once readers orient themselves with the idiosyncrasies in Hatz's darkly whimsical—yet ultimately relatable—novel, they're in for a fast paced, entertaining comic treat. Character-driven, this loopy satire is a droll examination of the corporate-music world." --Kirkus Discoveries
"Satirical, zany, hilarious—a gut-punching commentary about the inner workings of the music industry, its power complexes, and power plays." - The BookLife Prize

From the Author

Rock Gods & Messy Monsters is a cautionary tale that illustrates how dreams can turn into real-life nightmares. It's a MeToo epic set in a fictional record company before the MeToo movement. The book is a fictional, humorous satire based on my experiences working in the music industry in the 1990s.

Rock Gods & Messy Monsters is a reminder that we create our reality, and we also have the power to reinvent ourselves at any time.

I'm deeply grateful to all the women whose tenacity for the truth and perseverance under extreme duress changed the course of business over the past decade. I never believed any abusive or unethical people in positions of power would be toppled.

May you always have the strength to believe in yourself. May you always have the self-love to leave any situation holding you back. And may you always do so with grace and gratitude.

With deepest appreciation,

Diane

Diane Hatz
Santa Fe, NM, July 2022

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0B9W8S2FV
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Whole Healthy Group LLC (September 7, 2022)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ September 7, 2022
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 3555 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 234 pages
  • Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ B0BCSCZH22
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 29 ratings

About the author

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Diane Hatz

Diane Hatz

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Writer. Author. Inner Activist.

Join her community at bit.ly/RGMM-email or wholehealthygroup.com/signup/

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.

Rock Gods & Messy Monsters is her debut indie novel. Based in a corporate record company, the contemporary satire uses humor to illustrate the absurdism of corporate America. The novel has received numerous awards and accolades.

During her multifaceted and sometimes surreal career, Diane founded the nonprofit Change Food, organized & spoke at major TED/TEDx events, and executive produced the hugely successful online animation The Meatrix, a Webby Award winner. She has studied with The Dalai Lama, helped build a monastery in Nepal, and is currently focused on writing fiction. Diane has an Individualized Master of Arts in Creative Writing from Antioch University in London, England.

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 gazing at the stars. The real ones.

Find out more at www.dianehatz.com and www.rockgodsandmessymonsters.com

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5 out of 5
29 global ratings
"Big is big in every respect."
5 Stars
"Big is big in every respect."
If you grew up in the nineties, or were living it up as a bright young thing back then, this book is for you.Rock Gods and Messy Monsters is more than the story of Alex, a frustrated secretary battling her way up the corporate ladder. It’s a witty, dystopian send up of the music industry in the days before Napster. But despite the rollicking absurdism, the inept, hubris of those standing in Alex’s way is no joke. In fact, it’sAlex’s honest intelligence which threatens to undermine her very existence at Acht Records.For anyone who’s worked in show business, or for an egomaniacal boss, for lovers of Max Headroom, fans of Douglas Coupland, or Jennifer Egan’s A Visit from the Goon Squad, this book is for you. With a narrative which swings from gleeful sci-fi dystopia to genuinely questioning the appalling judgement of those who claim to be in charge, Rock Gods will have you laughing one moment, and then force you to consider how one functions in a world full of crazies, when it’s your dream to work amongst them.
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Top reviews from the United States

M.R.
5.0 out of 5 stars Read Rock Gods!
Reviewed in the United States on November 10, 2023
Verified Purchase
I loved Rock Gods & Messy Monsters! It's a funny satire that's easy to read and hard to put down. The sci-fi elements added a clever, fictional twist on the 1990s record company scene. I really enjoyed the hard-hitting social commentary—it hit home for me, having had experience with the illustrious industry in that same decade myself, but anyone with any interest in music and sci-fi will love this book! I just finished it (nearly all in one sitting) and I know I’ll be reading it again. I’ll certainly hope there will be more books by Hatz in the future!
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Kate Bristow
5.0 out of 5 stars A dystopian must read
Reviewed in the United States on September 19, 2022
Verified Purchase
This novel is a contradiction - hilariously funny, desperately sad, infuriating, socially profound. The story of Alex a personal assistant struggling to please her demanding bosses in the music industry without losing her soul or her moral compass. Anyone who has ever worked in the corporate world will recognize this savage, absurdist take on the increasingly unethical places that the profit motive will take some people in their quest to succeed, and the courage it takes to say 'enough'.
2 people found this helpful
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Editors Weekly
3.0 out of 5 stars Quick moving and edited well, Hatz's quirky novel seems to target a narrow audience
Reviewed in the United States on November 11, 2022
Verified Purchase
Rock Gods & Messy Monsters follows Alex, a woman that works at Acht Records, a massive record company, and the various hijinx she gets into in trying to navigate her boss, Langley, and the plethora of other quirky characters that pop in and out of the story. This includes 'Big', a manufactured rock star, the Yakadans, a race of aliens that are interested in the music business, and DiMachio, the president of Acht Records, who is repeatedly described via a flurry of different synonyms as a 'dictator' of sorts.

Although fast paced, with a constant influx of new characters with interesting names and quirks, one can't help but repeatedly ask themselves 'why' when reading Rock Gods & Messy Monsters. Perhaps, to someone who has an intimate knowledge of the goings-on within a record company, this may ring some familiar bells, but outside of that, it feels somewhat inaccessible, as the large number of characters, all lacking any real depth, make it difficult to get invested in.

The novel feels somewhat like a sitcom on speed, moving quickly from place to place, with light, campy moments of humor and frustration. It also focuses quite a bit on different aspects of Acht Records, and does not keep Alex, the protagonist, in clear view throughout, which contributes to a neutrality about her; she neither seems to grow or evolve, nor does her personality hold any real unique traits, and seems somewhat 'general' in her motivation and reactions.

Recommended for anyone who has an interest in the inner workings of a record company, imposed over a zany setting with equally zany characters.
2 people found this helpful
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Enola Henderson
4.0 out of 5 stars Crazy A** book in a good way
Reviewed in the United States on January 12, 2024
This book was crazy as hell in a good way. It was well written I have to give the author that but it was a lot of craziness in here. If you ever read Hitcher's Guide to the Galaxy then you will know what kind of crazy I am talking about lol. It was a very thought-provoking story and kept my interest.
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Eileen T.
5.0 out of 5 stars George Orwell Meets Neil Gaiman
Reviewed in the United States on November 14, 2022
Verified Purchase
In a brilliant sidebar to the Me Too Movement, Diane Hatz has given us an eye-opening satire that conjures up Orwellian dystopia, Gaiman-esque characters and unforgettable imagery. Everyone should read this entertaining, yet cautionary, send-up of the recording industry. Highly recommended!!
One person found this helpful
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely fabulous book!!!! Great read
Reviewed in the United States on December 12, 2022
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Wildly enjoyable ~ highly recommend !
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Joanne Tombrakos
5.0 out of 5 stars #MustRead
Reviewed in the United States on October 20, 2023
Once you start this. you will not be able to put it down!
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Annarella
5.0 out of 5 stars Highly recommended
Reviewed in the United States on February 25, 2023
There's a lot of crazyness in this book: a lot of crazy characters, a lot of mysoginist and a lot of fun.
I think that Ms Hatz can write and delivers and entertaining and thought provoking story.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine
One person found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Jennie Vercouteren
5.0 out of 5 stars Hilarious and thought provoking! Inspiring to those following the Great Resignation happening today.
Reviewed in France on September 28, 2022
Verified Purchase
Rock Gods & Messy Monsters is a hilarious and thought provoking satire, based on the real life experiences of the author, on the corporate music world in the 90s. The vivid and symbolic imagery had me laugh out loud, and also feel sadness and disgust, at the ridiculous soul destroying behavior that can happen in corporate politics. In the end, there is a very hopeful and inspiring ending that made me think about the origins of the great resignation and quiet quitting now happening today.
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