Cruise of the Living Dead: A Zombie Anthology To Be Released 3 March

As promised, here are the details for the upcoming Cruise of the Living Dead: A Zombie Anthology. It's my birthday present to my fans.

Over the years I've published several zombie-themed short stories that I've now pulled together into a single collection. Cruise of the Living Dead: A Zombie Anthology will be published as an e-book available only on Kindle and will be sold for $0.99. The book is scheduled for release for 3 March, but you can pre-order it here.

The stories included in the anthology are:

"Cruise of the Living Dead" - Carissa Banning, a cruise ship's medical officer, finds herself at ground zero of a zombie outbreak when an infected family aboard ship spreads the virus through the passengers and crew.

"Rednecks Shouldn't Play With Dead "Things" - Sam Grodin and his buddies think they stumbled across the ultimate hunting experience when zombies attack their campsite. However, when these zombies fail to behave the way they do in the movies, Sam and the others realize they have bitten off more than they can chew.

"The Hunger" - Janet Simmons has been roaming an apocalyptic wasteland for months avoiding the living dead and trying to find enough food to stay alive. When she stumbles across another survivor, she suddenly finds herself in a human eat human world.

"Last Flight of the Bismarck" - Victorian adventuress Scarlet and her male companion Chappy thought they were taking a trans-Atlantic flight in Germany's latest airship, the Bismarck. When they discover that the Bismarck is actually being used as a delivery device to infect the Northern United States with steampunk-enhanced zombies, they engage in an epic battle with the living dead in the skies above New York City.

"Is Anyone Out There?" - An isolated survivor of a zombie outbreak uses the Internet to contact family and friends before the world comes to an end.

"Recognition" - A never-before-published short story that follows the turning of a human into one of the living dead from the zombie's point of view.

So if you love spine-chilling, blood-curdling, gut-munching tales of the living dead, you will definitely want to pick up a copy. 

First Bad Review

Despite what my critics say, I am not naive or egotistical enough to think that everyone will love my writing.  Everyone's tastes vary.  Recently I got my first bad review (that I know of).  Since I've posted all my good ones, I think it's only fair that I post those that are not so complimentary. 

The review is of "Last Flight of the Bismarck"from Machina Mortis: Steampunk'd Tales of Terror.  The reviewer, Bufton's Blog, said:

"The first story, ‘Last Flight of the Bismarck’ by Scott Baker, didn’t really do it for me. In many ways, despite the inclusion of a zombie menace, this was the closest to a pure steampunk tale (whatever that is) in the collection, but I was left feeling distinctly underwhelmed. Again, I not sure if I was expecting something else, but it seemed like Baker had thrown in half a dozen steampunk standards, added a liberal dash of the undead, and unleashed the resulting concotion onto the page. Whilst it was hardly a bad tale, it failed to hit my buttons in any meaningful way."

Contest Giveaway Winners Announced

I am very pleased to announce that the winners of the zombie anthology giveaway are Beth Dixon and Kim Mixon Hill. Beth won trade paperback copies of Machina Mortis: Steampunk'd Tales of Terror and Hunger Pangs, and Kim won the e-book versions.  Congratulations to the winners.  I hope you enjoy the anthologies. 

Machina Mortis: Steampunk'd Tales of Terror Ia Available as a Trade Paperback

Machina Mortis: Steampunk'd Tales of Terror is available as a trade paperback from Amazon for only $11.69.  And the Kindle version is only $3.49.  So pick up your copies soon. 

Giveaway Contest: Machina Mortis, Hunger Pangs, Dead Water

Are you thinking to yourself, "Wouldn't it be awesome if someone wrote a steampunk story involving zombies?"  Or have you ever prayed for a living dead apocalypse so you could join in the fun and satisfy your curiosity about the taste of human flesh?  Or are you just craving a good, old-fashioned slow-zombie story?  If you answered yes to any of these questions, then you came to the right place.

In honor of Zombie Awareness Month, and to celebrate the recent publication of my latest zombie-related short stories, I am sponsoring a giveaway of two trade paperback and two e-book versions of the anthologies Hunger Pangs (which contains my short story "The Hunger") and Machina Mortis: Steampunk'd Tales of Terror (which contains my short story "Last Flight of the Bismarck"), as well as two e-book versions of my zombie novella Dead Water. 

The rules are simple.  Follow my blog and like my author's page on Facebook (if you already have done that, then you are half-way there).  Then leave a comment under this posting or on my Facebook posting saying you would like to enter, and please let me know if you have a preference of which anthology/novella you would like.  The contest will stay open until 31 May, at which point I will randomly choose the winners and will contact you for mailing information.  One set of books will be given away on each site, so you double your chances of winning.  This contest is open to everyone.

I know you're all chomping at the flesh, so hurry up and enter.  And good luck. 

I Will Be Attending Eyecon in Atlanta 14-16 June 2013

It's official.  I will be attending the Eyecon Convention in Atlanta, Georgia, from 14-16 June 2013.  This year's theme is The Zombie Apocalypse.  I will be selling copies of Rotter World as well as the anthologies Hunger Pangs ("The Hunger") and Machina Mortis: Steampunk'd Tales of Terror ("Last Flight of the Bismarck").  And for non-zombie enthusiasts, I will also have copies of the last first-edition prints of The Vampire Hunters trilogy.

As of now, other guests will be the cast of The Walking Dead, including Norman "Daryl Dixon" Reedus, Jon "Shane" Bernthal, Irone "T-Dog" Singleton, plus more.  This is definitely an event you don't want to miss.

My Interview With Where Zombies Come To Read

On 8 April, Where Zombies Come To Read ran an interview with me where I discuss how I became infected with the zombie virus, some of the thought processes behind Rotter World, and my zombie short stories.  You can read the entire interview here.

Machina Mortis Is Available as an E-Book

Machina Mortis: Steampunk'd Tales of Terror, published by Fringeworks Ltd., is now available in e-book format (the print edition should be available in a few weeks). You can order a copy at Amazon.

For me, this is my first foray into a different genre, but I am pleased with "Last Flight of the Bismarck," about an adventuress battling steampunk zombies in a German airship over New York City.

There are also some great stories by fantastic authors you will want to check out.  Below is the description of the anthology from Amazon:

Within these pages you will find many different aspects of the horrific side of Steampunk. In “Last Flight of the Bismarck” by Scott M. Baker, the world is threatened by technological zombies with only two young adventurers standing in their way. The threat is more subliminal in Salena Moffet’s “Bedlam” where it’s hard to determine what is reality? “The Thumping in the Basement” by Tonia Brown considers the matter of limb and organ replacement and the ethics, or lack of, behind it. Stories like Nancy Jackson & Marie Andrews’ “Clockwork Carousel” take us to new realms of horror. I dare anyone to look at a circus carousel the same way after reading this unnerving tale. Victorian settings are used in two very different tales. “Whitechapel Transfer” by Theresa Derwin connects the hideous crimes of Jack the Ripper with futuristic Steampunkish technology while “The Garretton Ghoul” by Christine Morgan finds another community rocked by a series of mysterious and gruesome murders. Buck Weiss contributes a terror filled adventure in “The Black Banshee” that features two amateur sleuths of which I am sure we will read more about soon. So too is A. J. Sikes’ tale, “The Three Blind Men”, which sets the stage for more tales of technological terror. Taking us into the future is Nathan Robinson with “The Last of the Bad Few” which gives a different spin to the technological horror of Steampunk. And, as a contrast, “Nothing but a Dog: A Trio of Travellers Tale” by Travis Sivart brings us back to an Old-World European view of horror… with a dash of Steampunk added for good measure. These stories represent an ability to look beyond a genre’s preconceptions and create new horizons. These writers are explorers in a wild, new land and, before us, they lay a vast vista of exciting, and terrifying, possibilities.

So please check out the anthology, and be sure to post a review on Amazon.  

Update on "The Last Flight of The Bismarck"

Good news with regards to "The Last Flight of The Bismarck," my steampunk zombie short story that was scheduled to appear in Machina Mortis: Steampunk'd Tales of Terror.  As many of you know, KnightWatch Press had prepared the anthology for publication, but was unable to fulfill its obligation due to unforeseen circumstances.  Rather than leave his authors hanging, the editor passed along the publication rights to Neon Moon Publishing who, it was my understanding, was going to print and distribute the anthology for KnightWatch Press.  However, several months had passed, and none of the authors involved in the project had heard from Neon Moon Publishing and it looked like the anthology was dead.

Thankfully, Fringeworks has now picked up the anthology and is shooting for an early April publication date. I will keep you posted as events develop.