CHANGE IN PLANS: Appearance on Zombie Life Podcast Rescheduled

Due to unavoidable circumstances, tonight's appearance on the Zombie Life Podcast has to be rescheduled. I'll let you all know when the new date is arranged. Sorry for any inconvenience.

CHANGE IN PLANS: Appearance on Apocalypse Nana Radio Moved to 12 June

Due to technical difficulties at Apocalypse Nana Radio (Jackie said something about a zombie outbreak), tonight's show has been rescheduled to Friday, 12 June, at 9PM EST. Sorry for the inconvenience. I hope you can all join me tomorrow night.

I Will Be a Guest on Radio of Horror Tonight at 12:15AM

I will be a quest on Radio of Horror Sunday night going into Monday morning at 12:15AM EST. We'll be discussing vampires, zombies, and horror in general. So tune in for some late night ghoul talk.

Lessens Learned as a Writer: Don't Videotape Your Interview with the Dogs in the House

This past Sunday, I was trying to prepare a video answer to some interview questions for Jaideep Khanduja's website Pebble in the Still Waters. I had chosen a good question/answer that I thought would catch the readers' attention, chosen an appropriate background, and sat down to record my answer. The only thing I hadn't done was make sure the doors to the study were closed. Rather than a one-minute video answer to an interview question, I got several minutes of bloopers. Enjoy.

Take One. Look for Walther's nose at the bottom of the screen.

Take Two: Walther doesn't take no for an answer.

Take Three: Bella gets into the act.

Take Four: It's no better when your wife is behind the camera making you laugh.

Interiew With Horror Metal Sounds

Horror Metal Sounds interviewed me recently for The Gore Spotlight section. We discussed writing, vampires, zombies, and my upcoming novel Yeitso. You can check out the entire interview here.

I'll Be on Zombiepalooza Radio This Friday Night

On Friday, 27 June, beginning at 8PM, Zombiepalooza Radio will be interviewing several Permuted Press authors, including myself. I'll be up at 10PM. You can tune in to Zombiepalooza Radio here. Please give Zombiepalooza Radio, and me, your support.

Below is the line-up of authors slated to be interviewed:

Sean T. Smith 
Steven Kozeniewski
Paul Mannering 
Shana Festa (Bookie Monster) 
Gabrielle Faust
Scott M. Baker 
Steven A. North
Stevie Kopas 
Devan Sagliani
Michael & Anthony, the helmsman of Permuted Press

My Interview With Take a Bite

Take a Bite, The Home of Zombie Authors, Discussions, Debates and Zombie Addicts, has been running a series of interviews with various zombie authors on writing and how we would handle the living dead apocalypse.  Today Take a Bite published my interview.  Please drop by and check out mine as well as the other great interviews. 

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.

Interview with Permuted Press Editor Felicia Sullivan

Felicia Sullivan, one of the editors at Permuted Press, recently conducted a series of interviews with myself, Gareth Wood, and several other horror authors.  You can check out these interviews on Felicia's Facebook page. 

The Next Big Thing

Friend and fellow Permuted Press author D.L. Snell invited me to be a part of The Next Big Thing. The Next Big Thing is a blog tour in which the invited author answers a set of questions about his/her latest work, gives a shout out to the author who offered the initiation, and then tags five other authors to participate (you can see my selected authors at the end).

So without further adieu, below are my answers to The Next Big Thing interview tour.  Enjoy.  And please be sure to visit my colleagues' blogs to see how they answer.

What is the working title of your next book?

Yeitso.

Where did the idea come from for the book?

I've had this idea floating around in my head for years, but have been concentrating on The Vampire Hunters trilogy and Rotter World. 

What genre does your book fall under?

It would probably fall somewhere between Science Fiction and fantasy/adventure.

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

I would want Nathan Fillion to play Russell Andrews and Crista Campbell to play Molly Collins.

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

The desert of New Mexico harbors a creature that preys on cattle and humans, and only a small band of police stand between the town of Los Alamos and an unspeakable horror from an era that time has forgotten.

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

The book will be published in the spring of 2014 by Blood Bound Books.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

I have a day job, so I only get a few hours a day to write, at best.  It takes me approximately one year to write a novel: about a month to research it and plot out the storyline, six months to get the first draft written, and another five months to let my beta readers review it and prepare the final draft for submission. 

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

The only books that I know of that fall under this category would be the Clickers series by Brian Keene and J.F. Gonzalez, Mandibles by Jeff Strand, and the anthology Monstrous by Ryan C. Thomas

Who or what inspired you to write this book?

As a kid, I grew up watching Creature Double Feature on WLVI Channel 56.  My favorite films were the big monster movies from the 1950s.  They rarely make movies like that anymore, and even more rare are novels in the same vein.  I spent years mentally playing around with the concept until I finally came up with the right monster.  Yeitso is my homage to those movies.

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

My vampire and zombie works have always been filled with violence, foul language, and copious amounts of blood and gore.  This time I wanted to do something different, so I wrote the novel to read like a movie from the 1950s.  There is minimal sex, and the language and gore is toned way down from my usual fare. 


The following authors have graciously agreed to be tagged for the next round of The Next Big Thing:

Alison Beightol, author of the paranormal romance/dark fantasy novel Blood Betrayal, the first book in The Primigenio Tales trilogy, to be published in December 2012 by Cambridge Press.  Alison reached out to me back in March 2010 to say she had read The Vampire Hunters and loved it.  I volunteered to be one of the beta readers for her vampire novels.  It was an excellent decision on my part -- we became engaged in November. 

Max Xavier, writer, photographer, part time philosopher, and full time maniac.  Also a long-time Facebook friend.

Joy Killar, author and host of the blog Mayday Collective, an online consortium for artists. Joy has been one of my biggest fans for years after reading my second short story, "Rednecks Shouldn't Play with Dead Things." 

Tony Faville, author of the zombie apocalypse novel Kings of the Dead published by Permuted Press.  I met Tony this past May at Crypticon in Seattle.  Him, David, and myself occupied the far end of the Permuted Press tables, and he introduced me to Makers' Coke. 

Sam Garcia, author of the zombie apocalypse novel Dead Air: First Flight from Silver Dagger Press.  I met Sam on Facebook and have not know him too long, but anyone who loves zombies is okay in my book. 

E-Volve Book Interview

Please check out my interview on E-Volve Books where I talk about Rotter World and The Vampire Hunters trilogy, the writing process, and upcoming projects -- including a paranormal romance series with fellow vampire author Alison Beightol. 

Rapidfire Interview

Miranda Writes recently conducted a set of rapid fire interviews with me and dozens of other celebrities.  These were ten questions each, with only short answers allowed.  And sometimes shorter is more insightful.  You can check it out here. 

Interview With Zombiepalooza Radio on 2 November

This Friday night, 2 November, from 10 to 11 PM Jackie Chin will be interviewing me on ZTALKKRADIO's Zombiepalooza Radio show.  We will be discussing zombies, writing, and any other topic that we can scare up.  I will also be live in the chat room.  So swing on by and join in. 

Reminder: Sunday Night 7 October I'll Be Interviewed on Zombiepalooza: Dead Again

On Sunday night, 7 October, from 9-11 EST I will be joining host Jackie Chen of ZTALKRADIO's Practical Paranormal for the "Zombiepalooza: Dead Again" show.  There will be several guests interviewed, including fellow Permuted Press authors Peter Clines, William Todd Rose, and R Thomas Riley; Jim Krut, the "helicopter zombie" from Dawn of the Dead (1978); J.D. Villines, author of Dead Bangkok; and many more. 

So tune in here Sunday at 9 o'clock for the interview.  I will also be attending the simultaneous chat session here. 

See you all tomorrow night. 

Join Me on Zombiepalooza: Dead Again on 7 October

Join me on 7 October from 9-11 (EST) when I will be joining host Jackie Chin on ZTALKRADIO's Practical Paranormal.  The show will be "Zombiepalooza: Dead Again."  Among the many guests will be myself and fellow Permuted Press authors:


William Todd Rose author of The Seven Habits of Highly Infective People
R. Thomas Riley author of If God Doesn't Show
Peter Clines, author of 14 and other novels


I will be posting more on this as the details become available, so drop by often for updates.

Two New Interviews Posted Today

I was very fortunate to have two awesome blogs post interviews with me today.  So please drop by Bricks of the Dead and Reading and Writing Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance to check them out. 

Interview with Mail Order Zombie #184

The podcast Mail Order Zombie #184 was uploaded today.  It has several interviews with Permuted Press authors conducted last month at Crypticon in Seattle, including me, Peter Clines, and Eloise J. Knapp.   My interview starts around minute 68. 

The Summer '150' Tour

Werzombies Press is running a Summer '150' Tour in which one hundred fifty authors will be interviewed, including me, during June.  If you're looking to get exposed to scores of authors and hopefully find some favorites to follow, then you must check it out. 

BLOG TOUR: DAY FIVE

Today I have a wicked pissah (that's Bostonian for "great") time being interviewed by Wickedly Bookish on zombie lore and on being a geek.  Wickedly Bookish is also offering a give away of a paperback and an electronic edition of Rotter World.  Please be sure to sign up for your chance to win, and to read the interview, here. 

BLOG TOUR: DAY TWO

Today I drop by Wonderland Reviews where I am interviewed about Rotter World and my experiences as an author.  In addition, they've also posted an excellent review of the novel, giving it a 3.5 rating.  The reviewer noted that I "definitely didn't skimp on the gore" and added: "If you are in the mood for some kick butt action scenes full of gore and blood as bodies are ripped apart and zombies are plowed through, and somehow people manage to find a way to fall in love, then this is the book for you."  (I consider that high praise).

The interview and entire review can be read here.