I'll Be a Guest This Sunday on The Dorkening

This Sunday, 11 November, at 1000 AM EST I'll be interviewed live on The Dorkening podcast where we'll discuss writing and my novels, Rick Grimes' last episode and the future of The Walking Dead, and Overlord. You can catch us live on The Dorkening's Facebook page or on their YouTube feed. See you in the morning. 

Let's Not Forget My Older Works: The Rotter World Saga

Rotter World -- Eight months ago vampires released the Revenant Virus on humanity. Both species were nearly wiped out. For Mike Robson, the situation could be far worse. He’s joined up with a small band of humans and the last coven of vampires who are riding out the zombie apocalypse in an old fort along the coast of southern Maine. The group’s uneasy alliance is strained by the arrival of the creator of the Revenant Virus. He claims there is a vaccine that will make them immune to the virus, but it’s located in a secure underground facility five hundred miles away. To retrieve the vaccine, Robson leads a raiding party of humans and vampires down the devastated East Coast. Yet none of the horrors Robson has faced match what awaits in the underground facility…

Rotter Nation -- Despite being nine months into a zombie apocalypse, life had taken a fortunate turn for Mike Robson and Natalie Barzagan. Not only had their group retrieved the vaccine for the Zombie Virus from the underground military facility at Site R, they had found love with each other. That optimism is short-lived. When the group returns to its camp, a rape gang has destroyed the compound, murdered their friends, and kidnapped one of the young women. With everything they have achieved now destroyed, Robson makes the fateful decision to split his group. As he organizes a desperate attempt to rescue their friend from the rape gang, Natalie leads her Angels through a rotter-infested nation to bring the vaccine to the government-in-exile on Omaha. Both groups soon discover that everything that has happened to them up to now cannot compare with the horrors they are about to encounter.

Rotter Apocalypse -- The zombie apocalypse is about to reach its inevitable conclusion, but not before it unleashes a few more nightmares on Natalie Barzagan, Mike Robson, and Windows. After breaking away from the rest of the group, Natalie and her Angels succeeded in getting the vaccine to the government-in-exile in San Francisco where Natalie joins the military effort to clear the West Coast of the living dead. Robson destroyed the rape camp that had kidnapped Windows, but not until after she had escaped. Along with the remaining vampires and a band of camp stragglers, he sets off to build a new compound. Windows and the ten-year-old girl she rescued from the camp are taken in by a kindly widower who gives them the opportunity to start over and heal their wounds, emotional and physical. Just as Natalie, Robson, and Windows are settling into their new lives, each will be confronted with a final life or death decision that will decide their fates.


“With Rotter World, Scott M. Baker pulls out all the stops in a zombie thriller that is brutal, violent and terrifying. Definitely not for the faint-hearted.” — New York Times bestseller Jonathan Maberry, author of Patient Zero

“Think there are no new or original zombie authors? Think again. Scott M. Baker provides an exciting voice and fresh outlook on the undead. Fun, compulsive reading.” — Brian Keene, author of The Rising and City of the Dead

“Scott M. Baker writes in the tradition of J.L. Bourne and Joe McKinney. Fans of thriller writers like Brad Thor will also find powerful, welcome similarities in Rotter World.” — Scott Kenemore, author of Zen of Zombie

“Scott M. Baker has managed to bring together the best of what I love about end of the world, vampire and zombie tales in one glorious story. If you think zombie and vampire stories are overdone and there is not anything new you can do with them, Rotter World proves that theory wrong.” — Peter Schwotzer of Famous Monsters of Filmland

Last Few Days of the Vampire Books for Blood Charity Event

We are approaching the last few days of the Vampire Books for Blood charity event. A contest is being held to see who will win something awesome. Just go over to the #VB4B Facebook page and tell them what you enjoyed most about the month -- the comment with the most "likes" before Halloween wins the amazing prize. 

Let me give a shout out to all the vampire lovers out there. You have made this event a huge success, and all of us who are participating appreciate that. Let's go out with a bang, like a ray of sunlight into a nest of the undead, Please buy at least one more book before the 31st. It doesn't have to be mine (although that would be nice). Give into your inner desires and buy that book you've been sitting on the fence about. Indulge yourself, or give it as a gift to a friend. Or even better, buy dozens and give them out to Trick or Treaters (although that may not make the neighborhood parents happy). 
 
And please tell your fang loving friends about it and have them drop by before it's over.

Thank you.

All Three Novels in The Vampire Hunters Trilogy Are Now Available

All three novels in The Vampire Hunters trilogy are now available both in trade paperback editions as well as a single electronic omnibus. The Vampire Hunters Omnibus is available for Kindle and will soon be available for Nook, both for only $2.99. The print editions are available by clicking on the titles below.

The Vampire Hunters -- As former Boston cops, Drake Matthews and Alison Monroe thought they had experienced it all... until they found themselves tracking down a serial killer who turned out to be one of the undead. Stopping him cost them their careers and almost their lives. Thanks to an influential and anonymous benefactor, Drake and Alison find a new job ridding the streets of Washington D.C. of the vampiric threat terrorizing the nation's capital. Only this time, Drake and Alison are not facing a single vampire but an entire nest led by Ion Zielenska, one of history's most evil and twisted masters. As the vampires indiscriminately prey on humans, seeing them as nothing more than food to satiate their hunger, they create a wave of violence that threatens to engulf the city. Orchestrating the carnage is Antoinette Varela, the mistress of the nest, who realizes that for the nest to survive the hunters must be eliminated. However, when her vendetta turns personal, the hunters find themselves in struggle they are not prepared for. 

"Those that know me and follow my on-line work know that I am a vampire fanatic. By that I mean real vampires, the undead creatures that prey on humans for survival, not the glorified sissy boy vampires that keep getting shoved down our throats. If you’ve read Justin’s Cronin’s The Passage and Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan’s The Strain, you will absolutely love The Vampire Hunters.” -- Pete Schwotzer of Famous Monster of Filmland

Vampyrnomicon -- Within the vaults of the Smithsonian Institute lies the key to finding the Vampyrnomicon, the Book of the Undead, that contains the history and secrets of the vampires. According to legend, whoever possesses the book can establish a vampire nation on earth – or destroy the undead once and for all. With an opportunity to end the war against the vampires so close, Drake Matthews is determined to find the book. But the vampires also want the Vampyrnomicon. When Master Chiang Shih and her coven of the most powerful and dangerous vampires arrive in Washington to claim the book as their own, the hunters find themselves facing their most dangerous enemy yet. With the stakes so high, so is the ferocity of the struggle. 

"Scott M. Baker's The Vampire Hunters is a gut-wrenching, fast-paced horror thriller that takes you from the back streets of Washington to the rat infested sewer systems below. You cheer for both the hunter and the hunted as the author rains battle scenes with stomach turning death and destruction around every corner." -- Fangoria

Dominion -- Lost for centuries, the Vampyrnomicon, the Book of the Undead, is unearthed and with it

the terrible secret of the vampires’ origins. The book's discovery gives vampire hunter Drake Matthews the means to defeat Chiang Shih and her nest. It also provides Chiang Shih with the knowledge required to make vampires immortal. When Chiang Shih raises an army of the undead and establishes a vampire nation in Washington D.C., she cripples Drake and his hunters. Driven by vengeance, and with his ranks swelled by unlikely allies, Drake leads the survivors back into the infested city. With the fate of humankind hanging in the balance, hunters and vampires wage the final apocalyptic battle in the streets of Washington to determine who will hold dominion over the earth. 

Only Three Days Until The Vampire Hunters Trilogy Is Released

Only three days left until The Vampire Hunters trilogy is released -- the first time in six years that all three books are available. Each book will be available in print as a trade paperback from Amazon and CreateSpace, and as an e-book omnibus for Kindle and Nook.

You can pre-order the Kindle version of The Vampire Hunters Omnibus here. 

The Vampire Hunters Omnibus Is Available for Pre-Order

Drake Matthews and Alison Monroe. Their names are as legendary as their battles with the vampires that plague Washington D.C. Now, for the first time, all three novels in The Vampire Hunters trilogy are available in one e-book on Kindle. The Vampire Hunters Omnibus begins with the first battles between humans and the undead in the nation's capital and concludes with the final apocalyptic conflict to determine which side will hold dominion over the earth. The Vampire Hunters Omnibus goes on sale 1 July, but can be pre-ordered here for only $2.99.

The Vampire Hunters -- As former Boston cops, Drake Matthews and Alison Monroe thought they had experienced it all... until they found themselves tracking down a serial killer who turned out to be one of the undead. Stopping him cost them their careers and almost their lives. Thanks to an influential and anonymous benefactor, Drake and Alison find a new job ridding the streets of Washington D.C. of the vampiric threat terrorizing the nation's capital. Only this time, Drake and Alison are not facing a single vampire but an entire nest led by Ion Zielenska, one of history's most evil and twisted masters. As the vampires indiscriminately prey on humans, seeing them as nothing more than food to satiate their hunger, they create a wave of violence that threatens to engulf the city. Orchestrating the carnage is Antoinette Varela, the mistress of the nest, who realizes that for the nest to survive the hunters must be eliminated. However, when her vendetta turns personal, the hunters find themselves in struggle they are not prepared for. 

"Those that know me and follow my on-line work know that I am a vampire fanatic. By that I mean real vampires, the undead creatures that prey on humans for survival, not the glorified sissy boy vampires that keep getting shoved down our throats. If you’ve read Justin’s Cronin’s The Passage and Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan’s The Strain, you will absolutely love The Vampire Hunters.” -- Pete Schwotzer of Famous Monster of Filmland

Vampyrnomicon -- Within the vaults of the Smithsonian Institute lies the key to finding the Vampyrnomicon, the Book of the Undead, that contains the history and secrets of the vampires. According to legend, whoever possesses the book can establish a vampire nation on earth – or destroy the undead once and for all. With an opportunity to end the war against the vampires so close, Drake Matthews is determined to find the book. But the vampires also want the Vampyrnomicon. When Master Chiang Shih and her coven of the most powerful and dangerous vampires arrive in Washington to claim the book as their own, the hunters find themselves facing their most dangerous enemy yet. With the stakes so high, so is the ferocity of the struggle.  

"Scott M. Baker's The Vampire Hunters is a gut-wrenching, fast-paced horror thriller that takes you from the back streets of Washington to the rat infested sewer systems below. You cheer for both the hunter and the hunted as the author rains battle scenes with stomach turning death and destruction around every corner." -- Fangoria

Dominion -- Lost for centuries, the Vampyrnomicon, the Book of the Undead, is unearthed and with it the terrible secret of the vampires’ origins. The book's discovery gives vampire hunter Drake Matthews the means to defeat Chiang Shih and her nest. It also provides Chiang Shih with the knowledge required to make vampires immortal. When Chiang Shih raises an army of the undead and establishes a vampire nation in Washington D.C., she cripples Drake and his hunters. Driven by vengeance, and with his ranks swelled by unlikely allies, Drake leads the survivors back into the infested city. With the fate of humankind hanging in the balance, hunters and vampires wage the final apocalyptic battle in the streets of Washington to determine who will hold dominion over the earth.

My Interview With This Is Carl's Brain

Recently Carl Alves sat down with me and discussed my career with the Central Intelligence Agency (I didn't reveal any classified information), how it impacted my writing, my future projects, and who I would pick to portray Drake Matthews when The Vampire Hunters is turned into a movie or series. Please check out the interview here. 

Interesting Posts From Other Websites

Every vampire aficionado knows that the vampires of film (and often books) are far removed from the ancient creatures of lore. 10 Things That Modern Movies Get Wrong About Vampire Stories in History lists the most common ones.

Nothing says New Year resolutions I don't plan to keep like torture. 12 Most Unbelievably Cruel Torture Devices in History lists some of the ways loved ones can help you keep those resolutions.

As the end of the year approaches, Bloody Disgusting has released several lists of the best and worst horror movies of 2014. It's sad that I've only seen two movies from these lists. (New Year's Resolution that I can keep: Spend more time watching horror movies.)

-- Mr. Disgusting's Top 10 Horror Films

-- 10 Awesome Horror Films

-- Zac Thompson's Top 10 Horror Films of 2014

-- Jonny's Worst 5 Horror Movies

Interesting Posts from Other Websites

For all writers out there, if you read only one thing that I post this year, make sure Cheap Words is the one. This is an article from The New Yorker detailing how Amazon came to dominate the publishing industry, its relationship with the Big Six publishers and how that relationship impacted writers, and the state of the industry today (including self publishing).

Complimenting the above is this piece by Forbes titled Amazon vs. Book Publishers, By the Numbers that offers some interesting (and, for writers, some sobering) statistical information relating to the publishing industry.

Last Monday, Brian Keene posted a blog on The Secret To Crafting Effective Horror. It's a quick read because the secret is quite simple, yet sadly I've ssen too many books that read miserably because the writer failed to grasp this basic concept.

Finally, a somewhat prudish essay from Rachel Lu on Ladies, It's Time To Stop Falling in Love with Vampires.

More Interesting Posts from Other Websites

One of the great mysteries of our time revolves around the true identity of Jack the Ripper (it's one of my favorite topics in history). According to The Daily Mail, due to a lucky purchase from an auction and some forensics work with DNA, the true identity of Jack the Ripper can be revealed as... you'll have to click here to find out.

Or maybe you won't find out. A website called usvsth3m has disputed the claims of The Daily Mail and provides their own evidence rebutting the DNA forensics provided by The Daily Mail. While usvsth3m does not identify whom they believe is the real Jack the Ripper, they do provide some fascinating counter evidence if you click here.

My wife and I always debate the part of vampire lore about why the undead don't cast shadows in mirrors (and neither do their clothes, for that matter). It's nice to see we're not alone in this debate. Andy Boylan takes a look at this in Reflecting on Vampires: Why Don't They Appear in Mirrors? 

Cover Art for Upcoming Projects

Below is the cover art for two projects that will be released in October.

On 10 October, Emby Press will be releasing The Vampire Hunters: Vampyrnomicon, the sequel to The Vampire Hunters. In this novel, Drake Matthews and Alison Monroe battle The Master for control of the Vampyrnomicon, the book that reveals the darkest secrets of the vampire society.

Also scheduled for release by Emby Press on 10 October is the Monster Hunter -- Doomsday anthology. It contains my short story "From Space It Came" about a giant wolf spider mutated by radiation that crashes to Earth inside the space station and threatens a Florida college town. Below is a list of the other writers and stories that will appear in the anthology.

1. The Mercury Cascade by Paul D. Hayes
2. The Trials of Blood by Robert Cristante
3. The Deadly Toy by Tom Howard
4. Allies of Convenience by Donald Jacob Uitvlugt
5. Besta Preto by Tim Jeffreys
6. Hardy by Jason Lairamore
7. The Sin that Slew the World by James Fadeley
8. Vengeance is 9 by Joyce Frohn
9. Zombies and Other Ways to Break Your Heat by Erika Dusen Tamindzija
10. Source by Benjamin T. Smith
11. The World Turned Upside-Down by John X. Grey
12. Flight of the Bumble-Beelzebubs by William R.D. Wood
13. Silver Tide by Jonathan Ward
14. Shadows by Patrick Van Slyke
15. From Space It Came by Scott M. Baker
16. At the Gates by David Dunwoody
17. Mr. Toad vs. Dracula by Gareth Barsby

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.

Interesting Posts From Other Websites

I know. Another article about Godzilla. But in Godzilla and the Problem with American Monster Movies, Jimmy Janda discusses why American monster movies like Roland Emmerich's Godzilla and Cloverfield are not as good as their Japanese counterparts or the American-made monster movies of the 1950s. And I happen to agree with him.

Since Alien debuted thirty-five years ago this week (yes, that fact makes me feel really old), MovieFone carried the article Alien Facts: 25 Things You Didn't Know About the Sci-Fi/Horror Classic. I'm a huge Alien fan, but some of this information was new even to me.

In Some Thoughts on Vampires, movie critic Kim Newman discusses some of the more commonly-known aspects of vampire mythos and how they are dealt with in book and movies. This is an interesting read, especially if you write vampire novels.

Interesting Posts From Other Websites

One of the things I love about vampires is the diversity within the genre. You can have good vampires, bad vampires, and vampires that sparkle. Although it's an older article from Weird Things, I recently stumbled across The Ten Worst Cliches About Vampire Films From Folks Who Just Watched Hundreds. I am guilty of numbers four, five, thirteen, and fourteen. But I don't care--bad-ass vampires still rock.

Keeping with the vampire theme, according to the Italian English-language newspaper The Local, a group of academics claim to have uncovered the tomb of Vlad the Impaler in Naples, of all places. I don't believe it, but you can read about their findings here.

Giant bugs are one of my favorite monsters. so I was interested in seeing how Dead Central ranked Bugging Out; 5 of the Greatest Killer Bug Flicks. I agree with most of their top five, although I would have substituted another movie for Bug.

Finally, I agree with most of the 5 Horror Movies That Should Not Be Remade. However, The Shining was remade in 1997 as a TV mini-series with Steven Weber in the starring role, and this movie was much more in tune with the original novel. But that is an exception. I hate to think how Hollywood would re-image Jaws.

Interesting Posts from Other Websites

The pickings are a little slim this week because I spent all weekend in Orlando at Spooky Mayhem, but I did find some interesting tidbits to post.

CNN's On the Road series reported in Vampire burial in Poland keeps alive the myth that will not die on an archaeological dig in northwest Poland that uncovered evidence of a "vampire burial"--its teeth had been removed, a rock had been placed in the corpse's mouth, and a leg had been staked. While this doesn't proof the existence of vampires (or does it?), it's interesting that the locals feared the presence of the undead among them. Unfortunately, the article did not give the time period for the site that was excavated.

Here is something I have mixed feelings about--Edgar Wright Could Resurrect Johnny Depp as Kolchak. Anyone who knows me knows I'm a huge fan of The Night Stalker. This was one of the most formative TV shows of my youth; it was because of Kolchak that I decided I wanted to be a writer. To me, it's the Holy Grail of television, no matter how cheesy it was. I remember how ABC butchered the franchise in 2005 with their horrible re-imaging of it. When I heard Hollywood was making another attempt to bring my icon back to life, I cringed until I heard Johnny Depp would play him. So I'll withhold judgment until I see the movie. But Johnny better be careful--he owes me one for sitting through The Lone Ranger.

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.

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.

The Paperback Edition of The Vampire Hunters Is Now Available

Emby Press has released the paperback edition of The Vampire Hunters, which is now available on Amazon for $13.49. You can get a copy here.

Re-Issue of The Vampire Hunters

Great news!!  Emby Press has re-issued The Vampire Hunters.  It's available on Amazon as an e-book for only $3.99.  It's also available via Smashwords.  The print edition will be out soon. 

So if you love your vampires bad-ass and your good guys heroic but flawed, then get yourself a copy today.

The Vampire Hunters Will Soon Be Available Again

I delivered the final draft of The Vampire Hunters to Emby Press this week.  We are shooting for a February release date, so my book should be back on the market soon.  The second printing of The Vampire Hunters: Vampyrnomicon and The Vampire Hunters: Dominion will take place later this year. Also, Emby Press and I are in discussions over possibly continuing the saga with a series of short stories/novellas that take the story beyond the third book.