Just a Reminder

Alison Beightol and I will be attending Spooky Mayhem in Orlando this weekend (30 May - 1 June) where we'll be meeting fans and signing books. If you'll be at the convention, please swing by our table and say hello.

Interesting Posts From Other Websites

There are a of postings out there assessing why the public has such an infatuation with zombies, but Shaun Huhn's Zombie Zeitgeist: The Influences and Culture of Zombie Movies is one of the most thought-provoking ones I've read in a long time. I especially like Shaun's concept that the appeal of the genre is because a zombie apocalypse presents us with a RESET button that can eradicate all the economic and social hardships of today and give us a chance to start over.

Lately I've been researching Hell for my Young Adult saga Hell Gate, and stumbled across this fascinating story about where the concept of Hell originated -- Hell Is a Myth - Actually a Bunch of Myths.It's defintiely worth checking out.

What I've Been Up To, and What Lies Ahead

May has been a busy month for me because I've been working on three writing projects. 

-- I've reached 13,000+ words in the third book in the Rotter World series, tentatively titled Rotter Apocalypse. The second book, Rotter Nation, is with Permuted Press and should be released later this year.

-- The final edits are being incorporated into Yeitso, and the cover art should be finished soon; I'm anticipating a release date from Blood Bound Books sometime in July or August.

--  The dinner conversation my family had earlier this week about Nazi space zombies is rapidly turning into a novella. For the hell of it, I conducted some research last night while watching Warehouse 13 and the novella started to write itself. 

As for upcoming events, Alison Beightol and I will be attending Spooky Mayhem in Orlando from 30 May - 1 June where we'll be meeting fans and signing copies of our books. I'll be attending other conventions in 2014, but nothing has been finalized yet. Also, I'm talking with Emby Press about re-releasing The Vampire Hunters: Vampyrnomicon later this year.

More Interesting Posts From Other Websites

Who would have thought that staying home and writing horror novels all day would turn out to be a public service? According to Science Has Spoken: Horror Movies Are Good for You, there are health benefits to watching horror movies. So to those who told me to get a life, the joke is on you; I'm saving them.

This article falls under my personal Sick and Twisted File. For a horror writer who also happens to be a historian, 21 Medieval Torture Devices Take Cruelty to a Gruesome Level of Insanity is like watching porn. And in case anyone is wondering, #1 is my favorite device and #11 is my favorite method of torture.

And of course I couldn't go a week without including something Godzilla related. These alternate concept designs for Godzilla are awesome.

Also, for the fans of the older Godzilla, Mental Floss posted 25 Fun Facts About Godzilla that are fun and entertaining to read.

More Interesting Posts from Other Websites

My apologies in advance, but I'm a huge Godzilla geek, so with the release date of the new movie rapidly approaching, you will probably see more than a fair share of Godzilla postings the next few weeks.

More and more it looks like the big guy is on humanity's side and is going to be squaring off against a Rodan-like kaiju as well as a new creature called the Muto Monster. Check out this trailer and this trailer for the latest updates on the movie. And this weekend, Bloody Disgusting posted this clip showing Godzilla's first appearance (yet another reason to hate bridges). .

From the "Can They Really Be That Stupid File,"check out this excerpt from an interview with Robert Kirkman, creator of The Walking Dead, on why NBC did not get the rights to transer his graphic novel onto the small screen.

Do You Want To Win a Free Copy of The Vampire Hunters?

If you said yes, swing by Emby Press' Facebook page to enter their Fur and Fang Week promotion. Every day between now and Sunday, 11 May, Emby Press will be giving away print and e-books of The Vampire Hunters and Rob Pegler's werewolf novel Coppertown Red.

So what are you waiting for? You'd have to spend your days asleep in a coffin or your nights howling at the moon to pass up a promotion like this.

Interesting Posts From Other Websites

To try and make my blog more interesting, I plan on posting links to some of the more interesting genre-related articles I read during the previous week. I hope you enjoy them.

In this post from Shock Till You Drop, 12 Horror Sequels That Lived Up To or Outdid the Original!, I definitely agree with including Blade II, Silence of the Lambs, and Aliens.

FearNet ran two interesting posts last week: 10 Horror Movies Based on Actual Events and 10 More Terrifying Films Inspired by Actual Events.The articles include such perennial favorites as The Amityville Horror and Texas Chainsaw Massacre. But did you know that Wes Craven's Nightmare on Elm Street was also based on a true event? Creativity can come from any source.

I also included io9's The Most Fascinating Behind-the-Scenes Photos of Your Favorite TV Shows because these photos are fun and, to quote Spock, fascinating.

Guest Blog With Promote Horror: "Why Are Vampires Erotic?"

On 28 April, Promote Horror posted a guest blog from me on "Why Are Vampires Erotic?" So, if you get your kink on by watching the sensual undead turn humans, or you just like your vampires bad-ass and sexy, be sure to check out the guest post here.

Reposting: "On Rape and Repugnance" by Brian Keene

Brian Keene wrote a very passionate and spot on piece about rape, how it is used in the horror genre, and how many women in the industry are threatened with rape. I applaud him for shining a light on the dark underside of the industry. Anyone involved in the genre, whether a fan or an author, needs to read this.