"Last Flight of the Bismarck" To Be Published

My short story "The Last Flight of the Bismarck," about an outbreak of steampunk zombies aboard an airship over New York City, was accepted for publication in Knightwatch Press' anthology Machina Mortis: Steampunk'd Tales of Terror.  The publication date has not yet been set, but I'll provide details as they become available.

Below is the table of contents for the other stories that will be included:

 
"Last Flight of the Bismarck" by Scott M. Baker
"Bedlam" by Salena Moffat
"Patterns" by Drew Dunlap
"The Thumping in the Basement" by Tonia Brown
"The Last of the Bad Few" by Nathan Robinson
"Static" by Sam Gafford
"Whitechapel Transfer" by Theresa Derwin
"The Three Blind Men" by A.J. Sikes
"Nothing but a Dog: A Trio of Travelers Tale" by Travis Sivart
"Clockwork Carousel" by Nancy Jackson and Marie Andrews
"Black Banshee" by Buck Weiss
"Garretton Ghoul" by Christine Morgan

Sunday Bunnies

Daddy has a new book out.  Big thumping deal!  As long as he gives me treats, everything'll be fine.

Zombies Rule! on Read 2 Review

Many thanks to Read 2 Review for posting my guest blog Zombies Rule! to coincide with the publication of Rotter World.  Please drop by Read 2 Review and check it out.

Virtual Book Tour for Rotter World

From 13-20 May 2012 I'll be doing a virtual book tour in which selected blogs will either review or promote Rotter World, interview me, or allow me to guest blog.  Copies of the book will be given away at each stop along the tour. More details will be provided as they become available. 

Below is a schedule of the tour and the blog sites I will be on.

13 May:  All Things Writing (book review)

14 May:  Wonderland Reviews (interview)

15 May:  Ramblings of an Amateur Author (excerpt and synopsis)

16 May:  Rea's Reading and Reviews (guest blog)

17 May:  Wickedly Bookish (interview)

18 May:  Good Choice Reading (book review)

19 May:  I Just Wanna Sit Here and Read! (excerpt and synopsis)

20 May:  Tea and Book (excerpt and synopsis)

Many thanks to Permuted Press and Innovative Online Book Tour for arranging this.

Rotter World Now Available as an Audio Book

Rotter World is now available as an audio book from Audible.com.  Please check it out. 

Sunday Bunnies

Screw the treats.  Give me some beer.

Mini Status Update

Myself and my fellow Permuted Press authors who will be attending Crypticon 25-27 May in Seattle have been working with the convention organizers to decide which panels we'll be sitting on.  So far it looks like a good series of panels, but I can't provide more details until the sessions are finalized.

Also, thanks to the good people at Innovative Online Book Tours, I will be doing a virtual book tour for Rotter World in mid-May.  More details on that as they become available.

Readout of Last Weekend's Ravencon Convention

I had a great time at Ravencon this past weekend.  I got to meet some old friends, like Charles Gannon, and make some new ones: Leona Wisoker, John Betancourt of Wildside Press, and the members of Hatton Cross Steampunk, to name just a few. I also want to shout out a thanks to Dennis and his wife for coming out to support me, as well as to those fans who showed up at the late-night reading of my newest short story. 

Myself and mystery/thriller author Austin S. Camacho

This was my first time attending a convention as a celebrity guest and to sit on panels, which were loads of fun.  On some of the panels I was in over my head, especially "Is Your Brain Steampunk?"  The topic of conversation was whether our brains worked on the analog or digital model, and was being moderated by a neurosurgeon.  Talk about being out of your league.  All I could offer was "I once wrote a story about steampunk zombies." (Note to self: Next time, check out the panels a little more thoroughly before signing up for them.)  But I kicked living dead butt on the "Surviving a Zombie Apocalypse" panel (many thanks to fellow panel members Leo Champion and Bruce Scholl of Geek Radio Daily for helping to prepare everyone for the much anticipated zombie apocalypse) and "Zombies vs. Robots," which turned out to be a pleasant chat between me, fellow panelist Andrew Fox, and the audience.  And to prove that our topic was timely and important, and not just a fun way to waste an hour, this article appeared on the Zombie Research Society website around the same time as the convention. 

I was very fortunate to sit on several writing-related panels with very talented authors (Day Al-Mohamed, A.J. Hartley, Meriah Crawford, J.M. Lee, Bud Sparhawk, KT Pinto, Barb Fischer, Robert E. Waters, and Stuart Jaffe).  During one panel on "Handling Potentially Offensive Topics" (and those who are familiar with my writing know that I can be potentially offensive), myself and several others were challenged by Nobilis Reed to come up with short stories about tentacle sex for his upcoming anthology Coming Together Arm in Arm in Arm.., the proceeds from which will benefit the Oceana ocean preservation society.  Since I rarely turn down a writing challenge, this should be interesting.  ("But Your Honor, I wasn't downloading tentacle porn from the Internet.  I was doing research for my next short story.  Honest.")

Steampunk Darth Vader from the hatten Cross Steampunk group

Attending horror/Sci-Fi/fantasy conventions is one of the perks of being a writer.  I love being around people like myself who appreciate the genre and how much it means to us.  If I have as good a time next month at Crypticon as I did at Ravencon, then Seattle will rock.

Interview on This Is Horror Website

Many thanks to This Is Horror for interviewing me and giving me a chance to reach out to my fans across the pond. 

Sunday Bunnies

I just got back from three twelve-hour days at Ravencon, and am too tired to come up with something witty for the Sunday Bunnies.  So instead, here is a photo of me holding Willow in an embarrassing pose.  Enjoy. 

I Will Be Attending Infectscranton 21-22 September

In addition to attending Ravencon this weekend and Crypticon in May, I will also be attending the Infectscranton event in Scranton, Pennsylvania from 21-22 September 2012.  I'm very excited about this, and not just because I'll be attending as one of the celebrities.  The organizers are doing an awesome job of pulling together an impressive array of zombie-related figures.  Scheduled guests so far include Permuted Press author Jacquline Druga; Night of the Living Dead start Judith O'Dea (Barbara) and  Russ Streiner; Madison Lintz (Sophia) nd Addy Miller (Little Girl Zombie) from The Walking Dead; Matt Mogk, author of Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Zombies; and many more to be announced.  Definitely check out the webpage frequently and book your tickets before they're sold out.

Easter Edition of the Sunday Bunnies

Happy Easter!!!!!!!

Updates on Ravencon

On 13-15 April I'll be attending Ravencon 2012 at the Holiday Inn Koger in Richmond.  This is going to be a huge event with artists representing all genres (Horror, Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Steampunk, and many more) and all aspects of these genres from gaming to cosplay to some really bizarre and kinky late night workshops you know I'm going to attend.  There are also going to be a lot of workshops and panels throughout the weekend.  You can check out the full schedule of events here.

The ones I'll be sitting on are listed below:

-- Writing Action Scenes

-- Surviving the Zombie Apocalypse (how could I not be on this one)

-- Your Brain Is Steampunk

-- There Is a Line: Handling Potentially Offensive Scenes

-- The Coming Famine

-- From Print to Electronic Publishing

-- Steampunk as Alternate History

-- Are Panels About Vampires Played Out?

If you're going to be in Richmond that weekend, consider dropping by.  I've seen the event schedule for the weekend, and it truly looks awesome.  And if you do go, look around for me.  Not only will I be sitting the panels, but I'll be doing some readings and book signings throughout the weekend.  I hope to see you there.

Remembering Polly

Today is a going to be a sad day.  Four yeas ago I lost my sweet little Polly, pictured above grooming my bald spot.  She came from a rescue situation in New Jersey where she shared a pen with thirty-seven other rabbits and had to fight for her food.  When I adopted her, she had a chunk taken out of one ear, half her nose was missing, and she had a major "don't-frack-with-me" Jersey attitude.  But she loved her daddy more than anything.  Polly greeted me every morning with a nose bath, and at night would sleep on the bed between my legs like a cat.  Unfortunately, she was taken away when she was still young as the result of a rare, genetic disease.  I was heart borken.  (For anyone who has read The Vampire Hunters: Dominion, I wrote the confrontation between Drake and van Helsing right after returning from leaving Polly at the vet, which is why that scene is so poignant.  Writing it was painful but cathartic.)  She may no longer be with me, but she'll always be loved.

Rotter World Is Now Available as an E-Book

Rotter World is now available for the Kindle and the Nook.

Sunday Bunnies

Sorry.  I thought you asked "Am I chubby?" not "Are you my hubby?"