Hard Knocks Hill is the publishing alias for J. J. Walsh. Check out completed works below, or visit “Works in Progress” to see what’s in the hopper! Got questions? Drop me a note by email or Instagram.
Out now! Comic-Con, 2036. The world is rocked by the bizarre and inexplicable materialization of Cateklysm Catholicon – a colorfully clad whackjob decreeing that humanity’s only hope lies in the lessons found in superhero comic books. “Cateklysm’s Challenge” is born, enticing even the most skeptical with a prize that promises “the power to change the world.”
But two decades later, the world has gone to crap. The prize, the Challenge, and Cateklysm himself have all been forgotten by everyone but the Chowderheads – diehard superhero worshippers, who champion the progressive ideology infused into comics.
Enter Clayton Clayborn, a tragically orphaned, seventeen-year-old, second-generation Chowderhead living a dystopian nightmare existence on a Martian space freighter. Obsessed with the Challenge, he’ll face a gauntlet of comic book nerdery that will take him to alien worlds, thrust him into gladiatorial combat against supervillain look-alikes, and push him to the brink of annihilation in the heart of what seems to be the Batcave. But as Stan Lee would put it, “Excelsior.”
Reviews
“The comic book nerd’s Ready Player One…Fun, frenetic, creative, and the ending hits like a ton of bricks.”
Out now! Kill-crazy mercenaries, gargantuan monstrosities, and a “sixth sense” that may be a death wish in disguise. Augie Brunthouse’s first day of work is not going well.
It all started with Chuck Vestiglio’s exile and subsequent suicide on his private island, derisively dubbed “Supersize Island” by the press. Now the disgraced hamburger baron’s unhinged son has vowed to silence the family’s critics with a psychotic plot to grow beef better. Alas, his wildly illegal biotech experiments have gone wrong in a very BIG way. Somebody needs to look into it.
Enter Augie. He hasn’t cared about anything since his erratic precognition failed to warn him about the cancer that killed his mother. So it’s time for a fresh start—at Spiel Timmitel Corp. Augie doesn’t know what STC does, or why they’ve sent him a gazillion recruitment flyers. But they’re offering a huge salary and training in the Caribbean. Unfortunately, that training will turn out to be a shipwreck on Supersize Island. Cue the giant squirrel, parrot, and possum.
[Buying in print? Purchase the paperbackorhardcoverdirect and save some cash.]
Reviews
“A manic blend of laugh-out-loud
comedy and heart-pounding action.”
- Manhattan Book Review
“A satirical and utterly brilliant work of fiction with a cinematic feel.”
Henry Hubble woke up this morning to find three cherubic rag dolls trying to kill him. And it’s been downhill since then.
Henry’s life has taken a turn for the weirder. His reality has been gamified—and the game’s architect seems to be a few stats short of a full character sheet. With his nephew’s life hanging in the balance, Henry will face off against bosses, minions, and more, mined from his own memories, where D&D game dynamics, eighties-era action tropes, and vegetable phobias reign supreme.
He’ll only begin to understand what’s really going on when he runs across Darla Cunningham and her clairvoyant computer. Unfortunately, what’s really going on is even crazier and scarier than the murder dolls who want him dead.
Discover the origin of the world that bore Supersize Island in this rip-roaring odyssey filled with humor and heart.
[Buying in print? Purchase the paperbackorhardcoverdirect and save some cash.]
reviews
“A perfectly baked slice of madness . . . a thoroughly enjoyable ride.”
- Royal Road Reader
"One of the craziest and most entertaining stories I've ever read . . . wildly imaginative and engaging."
