Book Spotlight: Dark Tide 10: The Dead Shall Rise

 Another book spotlight for the Dark Tide anthology series, this time for Dark Tide 10: The Dead Shall Rise. Enjoy.

Dark Tide 10: The Dead Shall Rise

Prepare Because Death is Coming by Jay Wilburn: "Take this and bear the warning." When a messenger arrives at Dry Stretch, warning that a horde of zombies is heading their way forty years after the fall, Bay scoffs at the news. But a 'full body' meeting is called. Ethic is sent north to scout, but in Dry Stretch, no one is preparing. No one is repairing the walls. A William Faulkneresque story of the dead set in a dystopic dust-bowl town.

Zombie Diner by Armand Rosamilia: A family finds themselves on the wrong side of the zombie apocalypse while on vacation in Florida…

Dance with the Dead by Erin Louis: Tiffney is expecting just another night at the strip club. But when a customer goes berserk in the VIP room, things take an unexpectedly bloody turn. Stuck with a cocaine raddled manager and a shady club owner. Tiffney faces the unimaginable and is forced to turn her coworkers into allies to fight the evil that has taken over the club. Together they have to fight to stay alive.

Book Link: getbook.at/DarkTide10

Author Bios:

Jay Wilburn was an author of horror and speculative fiction that lived in coastal South Carolina near Myrtle Beach. He taught public school for sixteen years before becoming a full-time writer. His signature series is the Dead Song Legend Dodecology and for younger readers, The Lake Scatter Wood Tales.

Armand Rosamilia is a New Jersey boy currently living in sunny Florida, where he writes when he's not sleeping. He's happily married to a woman who helps his career and is supportive, which is all he ever wanted in life...
He's written over 200 stories that are currently available, including crime thrillers, supernatural thrillers, horror, zombies, contemporary fiction, nonfiction and more. His goal is to write a good story and not worry about genre labels.
He also loves to talk in third person... because he's really that cool. Maybe.
You can find him at https://armandrosamilia.com for all of his information as well as random things he enjoys.

Erin Louis is a former adult entertainer, with a love of books, writing and humor. Her job gave her a unique perspective on life. She spent twenty years as an exotic dancer on and off and started writing nonfiction as a way to shed light on a misunderstood industry and profession.
Her passion for writing began with nonfiction, but she has always loved horror fiction. Stephen King, Lois Duncan, and Clive Barker got her through some tough years growing up. She found an escape through those books along with countless others. Her own fiction reflects those influences as well as her love for all things dark and maybe just a bit scary.

Drabble Wednesday: Creepy Christmas

So after a hiatus last month due to the flu and other things, Drabble Wednesday is back.

And today on Drabble Wednesday I’m celebrating the Horror Holidays. Do join me for three tales of blood and jingle bells…

The Christmas Party

Come in, come in. The more the merrier, isn’t that what they say? We have food and drinks waiting for you.

The guests shuffled in, ushered along by festive Christmas music. They moved slowly through an open door, and saw a wondrous spread of hors d'oeuvres, champagne, cocktails, and more. They smiled.

You see, just what we promised. The best Christmas party of your life.

The new arrivals mingled with the earlier crowd. Behind them the doors closed. Their hosts raised a glass in a smiling toast, vampire fangs gleaming.

Did we mention? This will also be your last Christmas.

~*~

The Ghosts of Christmas

Scrooge wasn’t the only one you know.

And it wasn’t like the story at all. Those ghosts weren’t trying to help. They showed us visions, that part was true, but they tempted us, dangled desires and wealth like bangles on a pretty Christmas tree. Whispered in our ears about what we could have, if we just agreed. They came to both of us, Scrooge and Marley. They wanted the partnership, you see.

But old Ebenezer was smart.  

He didn’t listen to those ghosts. He rejected their promises.

He changed.

Me, well, I was greedy. I acquiesced.

I sold my soul.

~*~

And for the last offering, (with apologies to Clement Moore), here's a skewed bit of the cherished holiday, coming in a slightly longer than 100 words…

A Visit from St. Nicholas

'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house

came the smell of dead creatures, yes, even the mouse

The stockings were shredded, all tatters and bare

amid ruins and bloodstains and the odd broken chair

The children were slaughtered all snug in their beds,

with most of their brains gone away from their heads.

And Mama stopped screaming when she bled from her throat,

while I fled that room as quick as a goat.

And behind me he came, with, oh, such a clatter,

A’ growling and snarling, and after brain matter

I ran for my life, a Christmas most foul,

With zombie St. Nicholas here on the prowl

Book Spotlight: Ambulatory Cadavers

October may be done, but the undead are making an encore appearance today, with a book spotlight on the Regency Zombie novel, Ambulatory Cadavers by McCallum J Morgan. Enjoy.

Ambulatory Cadavers by McCallum J Morgan

Two cousins. One on the verge of a great discovery—and excessive power, wealth, and infamy—the other on the verge of an odious marriage.

Lyra will stop at nothing to achieve her father’s dream of dissolving Parliament into so much anatomical sludge, searching out the farthest reaches of science and the arcane arts. Until her own dreams begin to awaken, jolted by the electric sparkle of an artist’s eyes.

Alice’s worst nightmares begin to awaken as great expectations weigh upon her and her answer to a very important question is awaited. Lacking a strong constitution, Alice can only run from her problems—until she runs into a strange young man of questionable occupation and discovers her cousin’s terrible plans.

The dead are about to rise, the Lords are about to fall, and things are about to get creamy. And high society will never be the same again.

Ambulatory Cadavers is available at:

Amazon

Author Bio:

As a child, McCallum always wanted to write a book. He scribbled in notebooks, drew pictures, and lived largely in a world of make-believe. Into this fertile field a seed was planted. Notebooks began to fill and they didn’t stop. It was a soaring waltz with words among the silvery clouds and he loved it. He was thirteen.

McCallum discovered the Institute of Children’s Literature and enrolled in their writing course, Writing for Children and Teenagers. For their second, advanced, course, he rewrote those bursting notebooks. Now McCallum is eighteen and working on the sequel, and enjoying every minute of it knowing that finally, it’s real. It’s not just a pile of notebooks anymore, it’s A Hole in the Ice.

His other books include A Hole in the Sea, the sequel to A Hole in the Ice, and a horror comedy called Ambulatory Cadavers.

Website: www.mccallumjmorgan.weebly.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/mccallumjmorgan

Twitter and Instagram: @McCallumJMorgan

Halloween Week: A Fireside Chat with Lizzie Borden

Today, I have a special treat with another Fireside Chat. Our favourite fictional interviewer, Richard Dale, sits down with Lizzie Borden (from Lizzie Borden, Zombie Hunter), to talk monsters and murder.  Plus, there's a quick peek at the book, Lizzie Borden, Zombie Hunter by C.A. Verstraete. Enjoy.

Fireside Chat with Lizzie Borden

"Welcome everyone, to another Fireside Chat. I’m Richard Dale, your host. Today, we have a most special and infamous guest, none other than Lizzie Borden." Richard grins with obvious excitement and delight. “It is a most delightful pleasure and honour to have you here, Miss Borden.”

"Thank you. I am pleased to be here."

“Your story is been told many times and, dare I say, even become part of American folklore. Yet, the dark truth of the matter has remained shrouded over the years. I think our audience would like to hear your version, about who you are. Would you care to a bit about this tale of tragedy?”

(Sighs.) "I still find it difficult to talk about, as you may understand. That August 4th was a terrible day. You see, people have it all wrong." (Sniffs and wipes her eyes.) "I-I had no choice! I didn’t want to do it. I didn’t! But when Mrs. Borden came at me so… (Shudders.) It was ghastly. I’ve never seen anything like that before—and I hope I never do again."

“Before this unnatural event, did you believe in paranormal forces, Miss Borden?”

"I never believed in such things before. I had sneakily read a copy of Miss Shelley’s Frankenstein. It is not my reading taste, but I had heard others speak of it. It’s pretty gruesome. But you never expect such things to be real. Not at all. Not ever."

“Has it been hard, living with secrets?”

(Sighs again.) "I have been a private person, but with the attacks and murder of my father and stepmother, and then the trial, of course, I was thrust into the center of something I never dreamed would happen. The hardest part was not telling anyone the whole truth, the real truth, of what happened that day for fear of compromising the Society’s work in stopping this terrible scourge. All I wanted was for it to go away and never threaten my family again."

Richard leans forward the look on his face intense. “Tell us about John, Miss Borden.”

(Her face turns red.) "John? Mr. Fremont was a big help as part of my legal team and a good friend. He introduced me to the St Alphonsus Society. I don’t know what else I can really say."

Any further discussion is interrupted by the arrival of a gentleman carrying a tea tray. “Is it time for tea, Jenkins?”

“Indeed, sir. I have a lovely Earl Grey today.” The butler turns to Lizzie. “Would you care for a cup, Miss Borden? We have milk and lemon for the tea, and sugar should you take your tea that way. And some lovely cinnamon tea cakes as well.”

"Thank you. Yes, I believe I will have a cup. I’m feeling rather parched."

Jenkins pours two cups, and discreetly withdraws, leaving the tray.

“Shall we return to the interview?” Richard smiles softly and sips his tea, not waiting for her answer. “What would you consider your greatest character flaw?”

"That’s a rather personal question." (Clears throat.) "We all have our flaws, don’t we?" 

(She looks to the side and then dabs her eyes.) "My one flaw, my greatest regret, may be in not being firmer that my sister, Emma, not be so involved in fighting off those monsters. She just isn’t as strong as I am. I should’ve insisted she stay inside and let me or our instructor Pierre handle things."

“Much of the world regards you as a bit of a villain, but your story is more complicated now isn’t it? So I ask, do you consider your actions heroic?”

"I’m neither a villain nor a hero. I’m simply someone who wanted to protect her family and her hometown from the horrors unleashed on us. I wanted the scourge to end and see our family name cleared. I’m not sure I succeeded in that."

“What one word best describes you, Miss Borden?”

"Determined."

“How do you think your life would have turned out, under more normal circumstance?”

"Emma and I had plans. Once we moved into my beloved Maplecroft, we felt comfortable and almost free of the spirits of the past. We wanted to travel more. We both enjoy the theater. But life doesn’t always turn out as you expect, does it?"

“Any violent actions aside, what is your biggest regret?”

"I think I’ve addressed that already. I really don’t have much else to say on the subject."

Well thank you Miss Borden, for agreeing to this interview. It has been illuminating.

~*~

Lizzie Borden, Zombie Hunter by C.A. Verstraete:

Every family has its secrets…

One hot August morning in 1892, Lizzie Borden picked up an axe and murdered her father and stepmother. Newspapers claim she did it for the oldest of reasons: family conflicts, jealousy and greed. But what if her parents were already dead? What if Lizzie slaughtered them because they’d become... zombies?

Available on: 

Amazon, Print & Kindle - also on Kindle Unlimited: http://getbook.at/LizzieBordenZombieHunter

B&N Print: - http://tinyurl.com/hz6c8cz

Add it on Goodreads: http://tinyurl.com/hp9rvyd

For more about the author, C. A. Verstraete, check out these sites:

Website: http://cverstraete.com

Blog: http://girlzombieauthors.blogspot.com

  

Drabble Wednesday: Say Hello to the Dead

Today on Drabble Wednesday I explore what happens when the living meet the dead, or undead…

Encounter

The woman stood in the middle of the road, blocking the path of the wagon.

Henry pulled on the reins and slowly halted his buckboard. The woman stared at him.

“Are you hurt? Do you need aid?”

She shook her head. “I knew you once, when you were a baby. I held you in my arms. I’ve never forgotten.”

Henry shivered. “You look familiar, do I know you?”

“Not as you should, that was not to be.” She smiled whispering, “Happy Birthday, Henry.”

And she disappeared.

Shocked, Henry gasped, only then realizing he had spoken with his long dead mother.

~*~

Not In the Job Description

“I got a notice to report to the basement level.” Cindy spoke out loud, bewildered.

“You mean the secret lab?” Fred, her colleague in the neighbouring cubicle answered her, trying to sound ominous and failing.

“Ha, ha, very funny.” She smirked at him, before frowning. “But still, it’s odd.”

“Nah. They probably lost some paperwork. You know lab geeks.”

“I guess so. See you later Fred.” Cindy smiled, and left.

The department boss walked over and leaned against Fred’s desk. “She went, no problems?”

“Yep. No worries on feeding the zombies tonight, boss. I’ll clean out her desk after work.”

~*~

By the Light of the Moon

A woman alone at night is a dangerous thing, I know, but I couldn’t resist a chance to walk along the park trail under a full moon. It’s been ages since I took time to enjoy an evening’s beauty.

And it’s lovely. A big, bright silver moon, surrounded by a cascade of stars, in an indigo and sable sky. The air is crisp, and smells of spring, with the fading hint of fragrant blossoms. Nothing could—oh, dear. Footsteps.

I turn, and sure enough, a man with a knife.

Oh well, I am hungry.

I bare my fangs, and attack.

© A. F. Stewart 2016 All Rights Reserved 

Interview With Author Michael G. Munz

It's back to our regularly scheduled programming today, and I'm starting things out with a wonderful interview with Michael G. Munz, author of Zeus is Dead, A Shadow in the Flames, A Memory in the Black, and the upcoming book, A Dragon at the Gate. Enjoy...

Interview with Michael G. Munz

Why don’t you begin by telling us a little about yourself?

I’m a speculative fiction writer and proud geek from the tiny little town of Seattle, Washington. When I’m not writing, I can be found reading, gaming (primarily on a PC at the moment), and occasionally venturing out into the natural sunlight to bike or interact with my fellow human beings and the occasional llama. I’m also excited to say that I recently won a Bronze Medal for fantasy in the 2015 Readers’ Favorite Book Awards!

Of all the books you've written, do you have a favourite?

I’ve completed a total of four books, three of which are published, and of those four my favorite would have to be my comedic fantasy Zeus Is Dead: A Monstrously Inconvenient Adventure. It was a blast to write, and an amazing challenge to try to plumb the comedic potential of Greek gods returning to our world while at the same time crafting an adventure story that holds together throughout the comedy.

You write in several genres. Do you have a favourite? And if so, why?

I write in sci-fi and fantasy, and my favorite at this point is fantasy. Both have massive potential for imagination, but fantasy seems to fit me more. There are generally fewer constraints, and with fantasy I don’t run the risk of a real-world technological advance making a story concept passé the way I might with science fiction. That’s not to say that I can’t still have fun writing science fiction, of course.

Who is your intended readership?

Geeks! And I use that term with pride. Being a sci-fi/fantasy writer, I’m a consumer of a lot of geek culture myself, and I think my own writing reflects that. It’s especially the case with Zeus Is Dead, as I lampooned, revered, referenced, and generally embraced a lot of geek culture in the narrative itself. Note that it is intended for adult geeks, or at least an audience mature enough to enjoy Douglas Adams’s works.

Why did you write Zeus Is Dead? What was your inspiration?

I’ve been fascinated with Greek and Roman mythology since I was a little boy. One of my favorite books to read (right after Roald Dahl’s Fantastic Mr. Fox) was a collection of myths. That interest carried through high school and even a few college courses. By then I’d realized that the Greek pantheon itself was full to bursting with a myriad of characters, all with very human passions, vices, strengths, and weaknesses. I wanted to use them in a myth of my own, and somewhere along the way the idea struck me that a juxtaposition of mythological characters in the modern day could be mined for hilarity, and then it just developed from there.

What did you enjoy most about writing your book?

Zeus Is Dead was the first humorous book I’ve written. For the first time I was able to embrace all the little side jokes that my brain always makes when I write—things I previously had to mostly ignore due to writing a more serious work. (Sometimes I managed to work some of that humor in anyway, via a comment made by a character with a sense of humor, but most of it had to be squelched in order to maintain the proper tone.) With Zeus Is Dead, I just let it spill onto the page. Some of it was lost in the editing process—as it should be—but not having to hold back felt very liberating.

When did you realize you wanted to be a writer?

I had that particular epiphany when I was nineteen during the summer after my freshman year of college. I was staying at my parents’ place, which was on the south end of a big island here in Washington State’s Puget Sound, and about an hour and a ferry ride away from anyone I knew. As a result, I was feeling pretty isolated and depressed. (I should mention that it wasn’t some sort of Harry Potter-esque forced-to-live-in-a-closet sort of thing. My parents are great, and even if they had forced me to live in a closet, I’m sure it would have been a very comfortable one. I was just having trouble dealing with being away from everyone that I’d gotten know that year.) Reading was one of my refuges against my late-teen/early-adult angst. I vividly remember lying on my bed eating popcorn while in the middle of reading Terry Brooks’s Elfstones of Shannara for the first time. When I took a moment to reflect on how much I was enjoying it, I had this watershed moment and realized how fulfilling it would be to give others the same enjoyment via my own writing the way Brooks’s writing was giving me.

I’m pretty sure it had nothing at all to do with the popcorn.

Are you working on another book?

I am! I’m doing my best to finish up the third and final book in my science fiction/cyberpunk series. Following A Shadow in the Flames (book one) and A Memory in the Black (book two), it’s tentatively titled A Dragon at the Gate. I’d hoped to have it ready for publication by this December, but it’s taking a longer than I’d planned to tie things up in a satisfactory fashion. I hope to have it completed by late winter 2016.

What’s your next project? Any upcoming book secrets you care to reveal?

After A Dragon at the Gate, I’m going back to the world of Zeus Is Dead. I don’t want to reveal too much just now, but it’s entirely possible that the title of that book will be Zeus Is Undead. Will there be zombies? It’s highly likely.

Author Bio:

An award-winning writer of speculative fiction, Michael G. Munz enjoys writing tales that combine the futuristic or fantastic with the modern world and human themes. His driving desire is to craft entertaining stories that give to others the same pleasure that other writers have given to him. Among his influences are the writings of Dan Simmons, Terry Brooks, and Douglas Adams. Michael dwells in Seattle where he continues his quest to write the most entertaining novel known to humankind and find a really fantastic clam linguini. Find out more about him at michaelgmunz.com.

Zeus Is Dead

THE GODS ARE BACK. DID YOU MYTH THEM?

You probably saw the press conference. Nine months ago, Zeus’s murder catapulted the Greek gods back into our world. Now they revel in their new temples, casinos, and media empires—well, all except Apollo. A compulsive overachiever with a bursting portfolio of godly duties, the amount of email alone that he receives from rapacious mortals turns each of his days into a living hell. Yet there may be hope, if only he can return Zeus to life! With the aid of Thalia, the muse of comedy and science fiction, Apollo will risk his very godhood to help sarcastic TV producer Tracy Wallace and a gamer-geek named Leif—two mortals who hold the key to Zeus’s resurrection. (Well, probably. Prophecies are tricky buggers.)

Soon an overflowing inbox will be the least of Apollo’s troubles. Whoever murdered Zeus will certainly kill again to prevent his return, and avoiding them would be far easier if Apollo could possibly figure out who they are. Even worse, the muse is starting to get cranky.

Discover a world where reality TV heroes slay actual monsters and the gods have their own Twitter feeds: Zeus Is Dead: A Monstrously Inconvenient Adventure!

Bronze Medalist: 2015 Readers' Favorite Book Awards

Finalist: 2015 Independent Author Network Book of the Year Awards

Zeus Is Dead is available at Amazon