Status Update

Started proofing The Vampire Hunters: Dominion for Shadowfire Press, the last book in the trilogy, which is to be published in February 2011.  I'm up to page 54.

Happy New Year to All My Fans and Friends

Looking Back and Looking Forward

As I looked back on 2010 during the holidays, it dawned on me how truly eventful this year has been for me.  There were a lot of personal triumphs.  I took on a new job in April that proofed immensely challenging and highly rewarding, and I’ve made a lot of new and close friends.  Some of those events were very trying, such as my sister’s near miss with ovarian cancer, my parents showing their age, and some very stressful personal issues.  Of course, the most exciting developments have been in my writing career.  At this time last year I was still an unpublished author, save for a handful of short stories either published on line or in anthologies.  Since then, my writing has gotten off to a respectable start.

My first two books, The Vampire Hunters and The Vampire Hunters: Vampyrnomicon, were published in March and August respectively, as e-books by Shadowfire Press.  Pill Hill Press published The Vampire Hunters as a trade paperback in November.  In addition, my short story “Dead Waters” (about a zombie outbreak aboard an oil rig off the East Coast) was published as an electronic chapbook in November by Keith Publications' D'Ink Well Press. 

I was also very fortunate to have several blogs interview me on my budding career as an author.  Many thanks to Raven Kelly of VampireBooks.ca, Michelle Hauf of Vampchix, Sheila Stewart of Authors Promoting Authors, Catherine of Suburban Vampire, Moonlight of Vampires.com, Ramsey's Book Reviews, Molly Daniels of Molly's Musings, my dear friend Alison Beightol of Adventures of the Cautionary Tale, and Suzannah Safi of Cocktails Fiction and Gossip Magazine for giving me the opportunity to reach out to potential readers and for giving my fans an opportunity to know me better.

So what does 2011 hold?  In many cases, your guess is as good as mine.  However, there are certain events that are already in the works:

                

-- The Vampire Hunters: Dominion, the last book in the trilogy, will be published as an e-book by Shadowfire Press on 18 February 2011.

-- The Vampire Hunters: Vampyrnomicon and The Vampire Hunters: Dominion will be published as trade paperbacks by Pill Hill Press in April and October 2011, respectively.

-- My first zombie novel, Rotter World, is being reviewed for publication.

-- On 14 January 2011, I’ll have my first television interview on The SpOOky Demenseia Show. 

-- I don’t have any definite books signings arranged yet, but I am looking to do arrange some in the Boston area in February 2011, and will be signing books at the Horror Writers Association Convention in New York in June.  Plus I’ll be arranging an entire new set of signings once The Vampire Hunters: Vampyrnomicon comes out in April.

So thanks to all my family, friends, colleagues, and fans for your support this past year.  I wouldn’t be where I am today if it wasn’t for you.  Hopefully 2011 will be even more exciting, and hopefully you’ll all be along for the ride.

Happy New Year.

Sunday Bunnies

I want my gifts now!!!!!

I want the big one, over there in the corner.

Thank you, daddy.

That's all I get for Xmas?  A friggin' slinky.  Scrooge. 

Merry Christmas

May you be at peace this season, spend the time with loved ones, and get what you want for Christmas. 

My Interview With Cocktails, The Fiction and Gossip Magazine

Suzannah Safi posted an interview with me in Issue #2 of her new e-Zine Cocktails, The Fiction and Gossip Magazine.  To read the interview, please click here.

Taking a Break for the Holidays

I made it to 21,500 words in the current novel this weekend.  I also got the proofs from Shadowfire Press for The Vampire Hunters: Dominion, the third and final novel in the trilogy (and my editor loved the ending).  So I figure this is a good time to take a few days off from writing and proofing to enjoy the holidays, catch up on some backlogged reading, and recharge my energy.  Once the new year arrives, I'll be ready to jump back into the frey.

Sunday Bunnies

As promised, here are the Christmas photos of the rabbits.  Not all of them are in the pictures because some of them refused to cooperate.  Hope you enjoy them (the rabbits did not enjoy taking them). 

Ho, Ho, friggin' ho.

I'm not speaking to you in this costume.  Talk to the butt.

Daddy has the camera.  Oh, crap.  What now?

Woody and Cinnamon. 

 If I was a pit bull I'd maul him. 

Television Interview Scheduled for 14 January 2010

SpOOky D has invited me to join her live on The SpOOky Demenseia Show at 8:30 EST on Friday, 14 January 2011.  If you live in the northern Virginia area, you can catch the show on any of the below channels.  If not, you can watch it later once it's posted to her homepage.  I hope you all tune in. 

Falls Church Community TV - Falls Church City - COX 12, RCN 2, Fios 35
Fairfax Public Access - Fairfax County - COX 10, Fios 10

Arlington Independent Media - Arlington County - Comcast 69, Fios 38

My Interview With Ramsey's Book Reviews

Ramsey's Book Reviews was kind enough to feature me on the Wish List segment of their website last night.  To read the interview, please click here.

Sunday Bunnies

My apologies for not posting the Sunday Bunnies today.  I don't know if there's a problem with the blogger or this piece of crap that masquerades as my computer, but I spent an hour trying to download a photo but kept getting an error message.  However, I will make up for it later this month once I humiliate... er, I mean dress up the guys for their Christmas photos.

Book Signing at Beyond Comics in Gaithersburg, Maryland, 18 December

I will be doing my next book signing at Beyond Comics in Gaithersburg, Maryland on 18 December 2010. Please come by and check it out.  Below are the details.

     Beyond Comics
     536 N Frederick Avenue (near the juncture with Perry Parkway)
     Gaithersburg, Maryland 20877
     Time: 2:00 to 4:00, Saturday, 18 December

I hope to see a lot of you there.

My Interview with Adventures of the Cautionary Tale

Adventures of the Cautionary Tale was kind enough to post an interview with me on their website this morning.  To read the interview, and to enter a contest to win a paperback copy of The Vampire Hunters, please click here.

Sunday Bunnies

There's nothing better on a cold, winter day than to take a nap in the sun.

Photos From My First Book Signing at Borders in Sterling, Virginia

Believe it or not, I'm actually having a good time, even though the expression on my face looks like I'm about to undergo the Spanish Inquisition.

My first sale at a book signing.  Thank God it wasn't my only sale. 

Thanks to the Sherons for showing up.  They're my biggest fans. 

Sunday Bunnies

Oh, boy!!!  Daddy brought out my favorite chew toys today.

R.I.P. Ingrid Pitt

Sad news today out of London.  Ingrid Pitt, the Hammer horror queen most noted for The Vampire Lovers and Countess Dracula, died this morning after collapsing and being rushed to the hospital a few days ago.  Miss Pitt had just celebrated her 73rd birthday. 

Sunday Bunnies

This is more than just my usual Sunday photo, but I love this video so much I had to post it. We have to give my rabbit Woody a bath every few days.  Because of his arthritic spine, he doesn't get around as much as he used to and he doesn't use his litter box, which tends to leave him with "messy butt." We've been using an old foot bath as his tub when we clean him. For the hell of it, the other night I tried turning on the massage and heat function, but was prepared to shut it off in case he got spooked by the noise.  Instead, this was his reaction.

My Interview With Authors Promoting Authors

Authors Promoting Authors was also kind enough this week to post an interview with me in their Another Story Behind the Book segment.  Please check it out here.

My Interview, Book Giveaway with Suburban Vampire

Suburban Vampire was kind enough to post an interview with me on their website this morning.  To read the interview, and to enter a contest to win a paperback copy of The Vampire Hunters, please click here.

Sunday Bunnies

My Woodstock has been suffering from arthritis for close to a year now.  However, within the past few months, he has also developed a fusion of the lower vertebrae that makes it extremely difficult for him to walk.  Often he just lies on his side with his leg in the air (believe it or not, he's more comfortable that way).  That doesn't stop him from hobbling across the floor at treat time or grooming daddy to tell me he loves me.

Last night Woody was on the floor relaxing so I decided to sit beside him and give him a pet. 

He was so happy to be with me that he decided to give daddy a nose bath.  You can see the little pink tongue going to town on my nose. 

Photos From My Halloween Visit to the Stanley Hotel in Colorado

Below are some of the photos from my Halloween visit to the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado, where Stephen King stayed and developed the idea for The Shining. It was also the location for the 1996 version of the movie produced by Stephen King and starring Steven Weber and Rebecca Demornay.

The Stanley Hotel

Your's truly at the Stanley Hotel. 



The hotel lobby. Anyone who has seen the 1996 movie will remember the stairwell and the infamous elevator. And yes, the desk in the center of the lobby is filled with pages that read "All work and no play make Jack a dull boy."

This is the banquet room that in the 1996 movie was slightly refurbished to be the bar where Jack Torrance chatted with his inner demons.

The model of the Stanley that sat out in the aviary in the 1996 movie.

The infamous Room 217 where Stephen King stayed. It'll cost you between $500 and $600 to stay there for a night now.

The view of the Rocky Mountains from the front porch of the Stanley Hotel.

Your's truly on the porch of the Stanley Hotel working on his own novel. (Okay, so I only got a page written, but at least I can now say I wrote something at the Stanley.)

First Book Signing Arranged

I will be doing my first book signing at Borders in Sterling, Virginia on 26 Novermber 2010.  That's also Black Friday, which is somehow appropo.  Below are the details.

     Border Books
     21031 Tripleseven Road (near the juncture of Route 7
          and Cascades Parkway)
     Sterling, Virginia  20165
     Time: 12:00 to 4:00, Friday, 26 November

I hope to see a lot of you there.

In Honor of Our Veterans and Those Currently in Uniform

 

Thanks to all the men and women who once served, and who are currently serving, in the armed forces.  As Billy Ray Cyrus once sang, "All gave some and some gave all."  America appreciates your sacrifice.

Sunday Bunnies

 

Now that daddy is published, any day now those royalty checks should be coming in, and I'm ready to help him spend the money. 

Book Trailer for The Vampire Hunters

Here is the book trailer for The Vampire Hunters.

Many thanks to Sazannah Safi for putting this together.  Please check out her website.

The E-Chapbook for "Dead Water" Is Now Available

Keith Publications released the electronic chapbook edition of my short story "Dead Water" this afternoon.  You can order a copy here.

The Trade Paperback Version of The Vampire Hunters Is Now Available

Pill Hill Press released the trade paperback edition of The Vampire Hunters this afternoon. You can order a copy here.

Happy Halloween

Hopefully everyone had an awesome Halloween, and scared yourselves senseless with a great horror movie or haunted house tour. 

I had a great Halloween spending the day at the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado, at the base of the Rocky Mountains.  I did some writing in the hotel lobby (I only wrote one page, but at least I can say I did some writing at the Stanley).  I went on the hotel's ghost tour, which included the famous Room 217 where Stephen King stayed and got the inspiration for The Shining.  And I took tons of photos, which I will post here and on Facebook once I get back home. 

I also found out today that my chapbook of "Dead Water," about a zombie outbreak aboard an oil rig, will be published on 5 November.  You can order a copy here. 

Finally, Pill Hill Press said the trade paperback version of The Vampire Hunters is almost ready and should be published this week.  I'll update everyone on that when I have more information.

Enjoy the rest of the day, and leave your kid's Halloween candy alone. 

Sunday Bunnies, the Halloween Edition

It's that time of year when I dress up the rabbits in embarrassing costumes, photograph them, and then publicly humiliate them by posting the pictures on line.  This year is no different.  Though the photographs did not come out as I had hoped, they're still entertaining. Enjoy.

 

I'm not a friggin' pumpkin.  

  Without or without the bat wings, I'm still going to bite him in the neck.  

That's the strangest looking rabbit I've ever seen.

 

Does this pumpkin outfit make my butt look big?

 

 I'll tolerate the decorations -- barely.  But if you try and put the bat wings or the pumpkin costume on me, I'll claw out your eyes.

 

 Oh. I can see the photo caption now.  "Which one is the pumpkin?"  Ha ha ha.  Friggin' hilarious.

Just take the damn picture!

 

 Bunnicula vs Tarantula

Status Update from Denver

I've been in Denver, Colorado this week on a business trip.  I've been putting my free time to good use (besides seeing the local sights) by writing.  I'm now up Chapter Four (6000 words) in the new novel. 

This Sunday I'll be spending my Halloween at the Stanley Hotel where Stephen King got the inspiration for The Shining. But that won't prevent me from posting the special Halloween edition of the Sunday Bunnies, complete with rabbits dressed up in humiliating costumes.

Sunday Bunnies

When is he going to stop taking photos of me to post on his blog?  Sunday Bunnies?  Why doesn't he think of something original for a change? 

Reviews, Interviews, and a Novel That's New

It's been a busy week.

Colleen Wanglund of Monster Librarian reviewed the Shadowfire Press edition of The Vampire Hunters: Vampyrnomicon, the second book in the trilogy.  Thanks to Colleen for an excellent review.  And I was placed right after Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan's The Strain and The Fall.  Yes!!!  Please check out Colleen's review at Monster Librarian.

I forwarded my responses to four sets of interview questions that will be appearing in the coming months in various writer blogs.  As the dates of publication draw closer, I'll announce them here and on Facebook and provide links to the various interviews. 

In addition, I (finally) started work on the fifth novel this weekend.  It's an idea I've been kicking around for awhile.  I don't want to give away any details about the plot just yet, but it will be my homage to the monster movies of the 1950s.  I'm only up to 2000 words at the moment, but it's a beginning. 

Sunday Bunnies

Crap.  Daddy took out the Halloween decorations.  That means he'll be dressing us in embarassing costumes any day now.

More Deadlines... But That's a Good Thing

Yesterday afternoon I mailed out the edited proofs of The Vampire Hunters to Pill Hill Press.  Now, with luck, I can start writing the newest novel this weekend.

This week I also received questions from three writer's blogs who will be interviewing me in November and December.  Once I have more details about the exact dates, I'll post links to the interviews here.

Status Update

I finished reviewing the proofs for Pill Hill Press' trade paperback edition of The Vampire Hunters.  Many thanks to Jessy for her excellent edits.  I'll get the proofs into Tuesday's mail.  The book is scheduled for publication on 1 November. 

Sunday Bunnies

Despite being almost nine years old (that's geriatric for a rabbit) and suffering from arthritis in the spine, Woodstock still enjoys the finer things in life -- like spending some time grooming Cinnamon's ears.

Status Update

This afternoon I sent off to Shadowfire Press the final version of The Vampire Hunters: Dominion, the third and last book in The Vampire Hunters trilogy that is scheduled to be published as a e-book in early 2011.  Tomorrow I begin reading the proofs for Pill Hill Press' print edition of The Vampire Hunters, the first book in the trilogy, which will be published on 1 November 2010.

The print version of Living Dead Press' Emails of the Dead: A Zombie Anthology is now available from Amazon.  You can order a copy here.  For those of you who have been trying to order the e-version via the links of my blog, for some reason they're not working.  I tried correcting them, but was not able to find the e-version of the anthology on Amazon.  I'll try to update them later.

Finally, I sent out my essay -- "A Brief History of Vampire Hunting" -- for inclusion in David Boyer's upcoming book about vampires titled Blood and Royalty.  I'll provide details about its publication schedule as they become available to me. 

Sunday Bunnies

The things I have to do to get a treat.

Cover Art for The Vampire Hunters Print Edition

Received the cover art this week from Pill Hill Press for the print edition of The Vampire Hunters.  It's awesome.  Thanks to Greg Smallwood (cover art) and Alva J. Roberts (cover design).  The book is scheduled to be published as a trade paperback on 1 November.  I'll provide more details as they become available.

Sunday Bunnies

Dear Bunny God, please let Daddy become a rich and famous author so he can stay home with me all day and write.  I promise to be a good rabbit and not pester him for treats or chew on the wires to his laptop. 

EMAILS OF THE DEAD Is Now Available on Kindle

Living Dead Press' Emails of the Dead: A Zombie Anthology is now available on Kindle at Amazon.  The print version of the book will be published on 1 October.  It contains my short story "Is Anyone Out There?"  You can purchase the Kindle version here.

Status Update

I'm up to page 400 on the final revision of The Vampire Hunters: Dominion.  Only 75 pages to go. 

Official Poster for "The Walking Dead"

Sunday Bunnies

The Tao of Cocoa:  Nothing says happiness like a daily hay bath.

Book Trailer for Night of the Living Trekkies

Any one who is a zombie fan or a Trekkie (I'm both) has to check out the link below.  This is one of the funniest book trailers I have ever seen.  If I hadn't already bought the book, I would have gone to Amazon and bought it. 

Book trailer for Night of the Living Trekkies

It's Been Another Busy Week

I just signed a contract today with Living Dead Press to have my short story "Is Anyone Out There?" published in their upcoming anthology E-Mail of the Dead.  I'll provide more details as they become available.

And I was finally able to get back to revising the final draft of The Vampire Hunters: Dominion.  I'm up to page 320; only 150 more to go. 

Preview of the Cover for "Dead Water"

I got the cover art for "Dead Water" and am very impressed.  My thanks to Suzannah Safi of Book Trailer Design for the great work she put into the cover. 

Once I have a definitive publication date for the chapbook, I'll let everyone know. 

Sunday Bunnies

Did you ever see a rabbit getting treats who looked as unhappy as my little Willow?