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Monday, April 7, 2014

Blogging A to Z, F is for First Lines of Zombie Books & Stories

Today for Blogging A to Z is F for First Lines.

I wanted to share some first lines today from a few authors... (Read the first First Lines zombie & Monster book excerpts


Lori. R. Lopez offers a trio of short stories in 3-Z (23 pages) ranging from suspenseful, to quirky, weird and humor-laced horror.   (Get it free for Kindle.) Here are the story blurbs and the First Lines:

In “Pound Of Flesh” a woman is trapped next to a hungry moldering maniac when a Halloween Zombie Walk turns real. 
SACRIFICE. That’s what it’s all about. Giving your pound of flesh to get ahead in this world, this modern megalopolis we have wrought with hammers and sweat and steel. Plenty of concrete. 

“A Big Problem” is a darkly humorous bizarro piece that presents a cross-eyed view of The Undead.
“HELLO? Do you have a crisis?” A gleeful query. The hotline had rung, which could only mean one thing. He chided with a snort, “Duh.” Then chirped into the bright red receiver, “Of course you do or you wouldn’t have phoned my number. Give me your address and I’ll be right over!”

 “Knock Knock” describes what can happen when a Trick-Or-Treater isn’t actually wearing a costume. 
“ZZZ. Huh? What’s that banging?” Nelle was asleep when the apocalypse began, so she missed the news.


Julianne Snow's GLIMPSES OF THE UNDEAD  (84 pages) offers a collection of short and flash stories sure to have you checking over your shoulder...

How would a group of children handle an uprising of the undead? What would you do to save a loved one only to find out that you’re facing a different threat altogether? How would a country react to a timely warning at the end of a war? 

What happens when a vampiric Romeo hits on an unsuspecting human? In a world where the undead are common place and protected, what happens when speed dating produces a love match?

Featuring:
The Treehouse
Kamikaze
Vanier’s Blueprint: A Zombie Tale
Must Love Zombies
Flash Fiction Duo: Fight and Hunger
EXIT
BITE
FLICKER
HORSE
BELOW
AGONY
BLOAT
ELBOW
Love Bites: A Valentine’s Day Misadventure
An Excerpt from Days with the Undead: Book One

Here's the First Lines from the story, "Flicker" from GLIMPSES OF THE UNDEAD:

With their perimeter set up, Sally and Joe settled into their sleeping bags around the fire. It was dangerous to have a fire out in the open, but it had been days since they’d seen one of them. They assumed they were safe, but there’s never any security after the end.
In an effort to obscure what they had done, Sally and Joe had built a ring around the pit, placing the stones so they better concealed the flames. It made them feel safer and soon both of them had dozed off for the first time in months.
That was their second mistake.
As the pair slept, the flicker from the fire caught the attention of a walker in the woods. A lucky step over the can-laced rope and it was inside the perimeter, closing in on the sleeping lumps.
As the fire drew it forward, Sally and Joe continued to sleep, the sounds of contented breathing broken by the hideous keening.

Besides my book, GIRL Z: My Life as a Teenage Zombie (excerpted here), I enjoy writing short fiction.  I began with a short prologue:

A virus. A freaking virus.

Here's a weird short story (16 pages)  I wrote which kind of began my fascination with zombies. In "The Killer Valentine Ball," Jess learns that all parties are not the same... Some can be a real killer...

  First Lines from "The Killer Valentine Ball" - 

Jessica Tate thought a monster invented Valentine's Day. Probably a man. She cursed at the work it took to squeeze into the short black skirt she'd bought only last month.
            She sucked in her gut, pulled the skirt over her thighs, and zipped. Okay, it could work, providing she didn't bend, eat, or move. Her ex, Andy, would gripe about how she was showing her assets off to everyone, even though he couldn’t keep his hands to himself. If he were here, of course. Instead, she was dressed to go out on a blind date. Destination? Some weird party at a day camp. On Valentine's Day. Can you say loser?

            Jess agreed to the set-up as a favor to her mother. So much for favors, she sighed. 


3 comments:

  1. Awesome surprise to get when I logged on! Thank you :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Very cool, Christine! Thanks so much! :D

    ReplyDelete

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