Xolo

Derek Rains, a nature-loving Colorado real estate developer, adopts a Xolo for his young family. These dogs were revered by the Aztecs as the guardians of the underworld. But when the animal bites his son, Derek is forced to abandon his new pet in the woods, where it is picked up by an underground dog-fighting ring. Horrified to see people forcing animals to kill each other, the Xolo taps into the ancient powers of its species to convince the other dogs to band together and kill their captors. Now free and wanting revenge on the humans who hurt and abandoned them, the dogs begin killing people who imprison their pets, growing the pack's ranks in the process. With the murders spreading across the county, the local sheriff's suspicions fall on Derek, whose pet was the only vicious animal in the area before these attacks. Derek refuses to believe that his dog could be responsible for so much carnage, but when his young son almost becomes the Xolo's next victim, Derek must face up to the facts and put an end to the slaughter.



About the Author

Peter Hurd was born in Saint Paul, Minnesota, currently lives in Forest Lake, and considers Hugo to be his hometown. He is a self-taught author and filmmaker. Shortly after graduating from the University of Minnesota-Morris with degrees in English and philosophy, Peter directed and produced his debut feature, the indie horror, "The Control Group," featuring genre legend Brad Dourif. After the release of that film, Peter concentrated more on his writing, making the finals of several national screenplay contests and publishing a story in Trigger Warning Short Fiction. XOLO is his first novel.

A lifelong Minnesotan, he also travels frequently to New Jersey, where he dog sits his sister's five hairless dogs (as well as a hairless cat and coated dog) who inspired him to look into the myths surrounding the ancient breed known as Xoloitzcuintle. These myths laid the foundation for his debut horror novel, a dream he had been harboring since first reading The Shining in fifth grade.