Monday, June 30, 2014

Pepper O'Neal, author of Black Ops Chronicles Talks Inspiration


Today we welcome Pepper O' Neal, author of the paranormal Blood Fest series, and the latest in her romance-adventure series, Black Ops Chronicles: Dead Men Don't, who's talking about, well, inspiration  (like a real-life dreamy blue-eyed guy)....

Anderson Merritt’s been kidnapped, but when a stranger comes to rescue her, she isn’t sure he is who he says he is. He claims to work her father’s boss. But someone close to Andi set her up, and now she doesn’t know who to trust. Every man she’s ever known has seen her only as a tool to get to her father or his money, so why should this one be any different? When a new threat appears, and even the CIA can’t help him keep Andi safe,  ex-Black Ops specialist Levi Komakov puts everything on the line—but will it be enough?


Inspiration? What’s That?
By Pepper O'Neal
I am often asked what inspired the story of a book, or where such inspiration came from. The fact is that the stories comes from the characters, people I’ve met and the stories they’ve told me. I’ve lived an interesting life and met some fascinating people, people with amazing, real-life stories to tell. My characters are often based on these people, most of who know from the start that they are going to be in my books. Most are flattered and, so far, none have complained. And, let’s face it, I seriously doubt that my own imagination could come up with better characters—or stories. Besides, writing fictitious tales about people I know and love makes them seem closer so I don’t miss them so much now that I don’t see them much anymore. And since my life has never been half as exciting as theirs (thank God), I borrow shamelessly from their experiences to write my fiction.

For instance, let’s take Levi, the hero of my new book that comes out on June 28th, Black Ops Chronicles: Dead Men Don’t. His counterpart is one of my best friends. He’s fun, smart, clever, extremely confident, and very, very observant. He has that dry British sense of humor, that is so subtle it doesn’t always hit you until later, and is also a master of understatement. The British usually are. Like when the motor mounts on our vehicle broke, shoving the engine into the radiator, and left all six of us stranded on the side of the road, miles from nowhere with no help in sight, Levi said, “Well, this is a bit inconvenient.” Then he fixed it himself with a little chewing gum, wire ties, and duct tape (well, not quite, but almost), so we could limp to our destination. MacGyver has nothing on this guy!

I met Levi while working for an educational research firm based out of Mexico City, studying the effects of illiteracy on third world countries. Levi is ex-British SAS and ex-CIA (don’t ask me how that worked, he never said) and is one of the most honorable men I have ever met. He told me some absolutely amazing stories. If I hadn’t known him, and known how honest a man he is, I doubt I would have believed most of them. He would tell me stories of hair-raising escapes and heart-stopping adventures in a such a calm, laid-back manner, that if I wasn’t careful, I’d miss the scope of how dangerous his former life really was. And he always acted like this was all just in a day’s work. As if he was saying, “Okay, yeah, I guess the mission was a bit on the dangerous side, and I almost got killed several times a day, but, hey, I survived and accomplished the mission, so it’s all good.” Did I mention he’s a master of understatement?

And he has the most incredible blue eyes. Ice blue—a pale, clear, cool blue that I have never seen on another person before or since. They seem to look right through a person. And they missed nothing. I have never met anyone so observant. I learned a great deal from Levi that I still use in my life today—as well as in my stories. J

When I wrote the first book in my Black Ops Chronicles series, Dead Run, I didn’t cast Levi as the main character. I hadn’t intended to use him as a character in my books at all, partly because he’s one of my best friends—and anyone who knows me really well would recognize him, not that he cares—and partly because he’s pretty amazing, and unless they met him, most people likely wouldn’t believe he’s real. But when I needed a character for the trouble shooter for my mob boss, Levi fit so perfectly that I couldn’t resist. When I told him what I’d done, he laughed. “Now, that’s one job I haven’t done, luv. Maybe I should try it.”

He’d be good at it, I’m sure. Just like he is at everything else. And he’d do it with a shrug and a grin. Just like he does everything else. You’d love this guy, just like I do, and I wanted to give everyone a chance to have a little bit of him in their lives. I know he would laugh and disagree with my assessment, but he really is amazing.


About Pepper O'Neal:

Award-winning author, Pepper O’Neal is a researcher, a writer, and an adrenalin junkie. She has a doctorate in education and spent several years in Mexico and the Caribbean working as researcher for an educational resource firm based out of Mexico City. During that time, she met and befriended many adventurers like herself, including former CIA officers and members of organized crime. Her fiction is heavily influenced by the stories they shared with her, as well her own experiences abroad.

O’Neal attributes both her love of adventure and her compulsion to write fiction to her Irish and Cherokee ancestors. When she’s not at her computer, O’Neal spends her time taking long walks in the forests near her home or playing with her three cats. And of course, planning the next adventure.



Friday, June 27, 2014

Zombie Obsessed

Zombies are a huge part of my life.  They became a major part of it while I was working on my nonfiction book, but I find even day to day they have an impact.  It's not a bad thing, just an observation I've made.

This weekend, my family and I went Jeepin'.  While we were enjoying the outdoors, I mentioned to my spouse that I'm was glad we lived so close to mountains where we could easily run to escape the undead.  His response was that the area would be a little hard to find food in.  Maybe, but it wouldn't be impossible.



While at the gym in the morning, I always notice these weird, random doors that are 2 feet off the ground.  One of them says "Roof Access," and the other leads to an office in the pool area.  Scenarios of zombies running after me come to mind when I see these, and I imagine that behind those doors is a safe haven.

Being aware of my surroundings is never a bad thing.  If an emergency arises, I want to know where I can go to be safe.  Even though the dead probably won't rise from the grave and attack, I feel it's better to be safe than sorry.

Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Gail Z Martin's Deadly Curiosities Launch!


 Come join a big Facebook launch party Today! for author Gail Z. Martin's new paranormal-supernatural book, Deadly Curiosities.

Prizes, chats with more than 20 authors, plus free downloadable goodies from 10:30 a..m. to 10:30 p.m. (Eastern time) I'll be there 11:30 (10:30 Central) for a chat.

About Deadly Curiosities:


Cassidy Kincaide owns Trifles & Folly, an antique/curio store and high-end pawn shop in Charleston, South Carolina that is more than what it seems. Dangerous magical and supernatural items sometimes find their way into mortal hands or onto the market, and Cassidy is part of a shadowy Alliance of mortals and mages whose job it is to take those deadly curiosities out of circulation.

Proprietor Cassidy Kincaide continues a family tradition begun in 1670—acquiring and neutralizing dangerous supernatural items. It’s the perfect job for Cassidy, whose psychic gift lets her touch an object and know its history. Together with her business partner Sorren, a 500 year-old vampire and former jewel thief, Cassidy makes it her business to get infernal objects off the market. When mundane antiques suddenly become magically malicious, it’s time for Cassidy and Sorren to get rid of these Deadly Curiosities before the bodies start piling up. (- from Amazon.com)




Monday, June 23, 2014

Five Zombie Book Facts You Didn't Know


There is a new blog-Facebook game going around that I thought I'd share for fun.
The Fives: Tell 5 facts about your WIP (Work-in-progress) and then tag five friends so they can do the same. Be sure to link to the previous person's post.
I'm going to share on my current book, GIRL Z: My Life as a Teenage Zombie and will share soon on my other work once I am closer to done and can reveal more about it. Read to the bottom to see whom I tag.

Five Facts about GIRL Z: My Life as a Teenage Zombmie: 

 1.      My main character, Rebecca Herrera Hayes, who prefers being called Becca, is a 16-year-old old part-Hispanic girl who lives in a small Wisconsin town between Milwaukee and Chicago. She finds her life turned upside down (and inside out) when her other cousin, Spence, comes home and shares a secret – he's becoming a zombie. She is infected and turns part-zombie through an accidental scratch from Spence.
2.     Becca is a "girly" girl who thinks the body makeup and the great "Ghoul Girl Pink" lip gloss invented by another woman who was infected is the greatest invention ever. Hey, you can't fight zombies if everyone wants to do you in when they see you. This helps her blend in more.
3.       Despite her one obsession with the makeup, Becca is not afraid to shoot at or fight off the full zombies. She'll do whatever it takes to protect her family, though there is one zombie did she have problems with. It's not every day you run into a little old lady who should be knitting instead of trying to bite you. Read an excerpt here about Becca and the Grandma Z…
4.      The book is set in Wisconsin - in the small "fictional" town of Willowdale and in Lake Geneva, but Becca and friends also travel to Chicago and end up with what I think of as a kind of zombies-Three Stooges scene at a hospital.

5.      Becca is close to her family and friends. They give her strength and support, even when things look the darkest. They give her hope when sometimes she has none and has trouble looking to the future—or wondering if she even has one. But it's not as dark - always - as you might think... or is it?

Kindle and print, Amazon.com – http://tinyurl.com/mwjn6v3
Barnes & Noble: http://tinyurl.com/d889gzn

The next five I tag are:  -Morgan Mandel - Margot Justes - Camille Minichino - Marian Allen - and Jean Rabe. Anyone else feel free to play as well.  The more the merrier!

Sunday, June 22, 2014

New Interview with Girl Z Teenage Zombie Author



I've got a new interview up today on Graeme Reynold's blog  as part of the Summer of Zombie blog tour. 

(** Don't forget my two giveaways! See rafflecopter (also on blog post if link doesn't work) and see my second giveaway here.)

*Check it out for some new facts and thoughts on writing GIRL Z: My Life as a Teenage Zombie.

* Check Armand Rosamilia's blog for updated links. * See Facebook event for what's going on. Check #SummerZombie on Twitter for latest. 

Saturday, June 21, 2014

Cool Zombie Poster!

Had to show this neat zombie poster from a yard sale. Something unique to take to that next book signing or event! Cool, huh? And it's already framed! (Yes it's that big too!)




Friday, June 20, 2014

Zombie Workshop

With the (almost) completion of my nonfiction zombie book, I've been brainstorming ways to share my new-found knowledge/obsession with others.  I thought there was no better way than to combine what I've learned with the books I wrote for the YA crowd, so with the help of my mom (who happens to be an amazingly kick-ass teacher), we came up with a summer workshop for teens.

Here's the description:

The scenario:  Zombies have overrun the world. The vast majority of people are either dead or transformed into the walking undead. You and your friends are still alive. How will you rank your supplies in order of importance to ensure your survival?

Surviving Zombies is geared toward a teen audience, but anyone who wants to participate is more than welcome. Participants will be given a list of 20 items. They will get 5-10 minutes to rank them in order of importance. This can be done either individually or in a group, depending on how many people there are. When they are finished, they will be asked to defend and explain their list. 

After the lists have been made, I will show the participants clips from various films and TV shows about decisions the characters in a zombie apocalypse make about survival and discuss the pros and cons of each. We will also look at the correct order for the items on the list and discuss why that order is important. 

While the possibility of a zombie apocalypse occurring is slim to none, other disasters are possible, including natural disasters (hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes) and acts of aggression (bombings, war). To survive these ordeals, it is important to have a plan to obtain the necessary elements of survival. This workshop will help the participants think critically about what needs to be done in a fun and entertaining fashion. The lists they draft to survive zombies could also help them in other situations.

Should be a good time!  I can't wait to present to an audience.

Wednesday, June 18, 2014

Minis, Zombies and Books, oh my!


Something different -If you're curious, the AIM (Artisans in Miniature) Magazine Issue 51 has a new profile of me (see pg. 58) about my combining my two loves -writing (GIRL Z: My Life as a Teenage Zombie) and miniatures. (In Miniature Style II) and my miniature work.

 Download pdf or read online HERE. (NOTE: You may have to sign in to Scribd to download.)



Tuesday, June 17, 2014

Free zombie and apocalyptic fiction

   GirlZombie co-blogger Kristen Middleton and author Chrissy Peebles may be the queens of finding new ways to share their work. While Kristen's book Zombie Origins (book 1 in the Zombie Games series) is perenially free, by repackaging the book again, it gives different readers a chance to also sample new stories they might not have seen.

Note: This compilation includes first parts of series. *Strong language, some violence and sexual content  - for readers 17 and up. (NOTE: This compilation was free at time of writing. Check price before downloading.)



DARK WORLD (5 post-apocalyptic stories)  includes:

APOCALYPSE – UNDERWATER CITY  (15,000 word novella - mature audiences only)
by Chrissy Peebles

I’m a survivor, living in a post-apocalyptic world. I live deep in the ocean and that's how we all survived the world's greatest catastrophe known to man. I’d often dreamt of a normal life, but sadly, that wasn’t what fate had in store for me. See book trailer.

RAVENOUS by Erica Stevens 

The world didn’t end with a bang, it didn’t go out in a ball of fire and fury, nor did it end in ice. But in some strange way, ice was the end; or maybe it was the beginning of something more.

Bethany struggles to come to terms with her past, her terrifying new reality, and her growing love for a boy that is powerful, mysterious, and perhaps even more frightening than the aliens hunting them. Aliens that want more than their lives, they also want their blood.

Book 1 The Ravening Series  - Young Adult. This book contains some language, violence, and sexual situations. Recommended for ages 15 and up.

ZOMBIE GAMES (ORIGINS) by Kristen Middleton 

When an untested vaccine kills more than just a rampant flu virus, 17-year-old Cassie learns how to survive in a world where the dead walk and the living... run!

This YA story is a lighthearted adventure filled with zombies, butt-kicking teenaged girls, a man obsessed with video games, an annoying but totally HOT karate instructor, and humor when needed.

*This is a young adult fictional story that includes some language, violence, and adult situations. Recommended for mature teens or older.

THE ZOMBIE CHRONICLES by Chrissy Peebles

Val was bitten by a zombie and now she’s scheduled for lethal injection. Breaking all the rules, 18-year-old, Dean Walters snags an experimental serum. But it can’t be tested until Val turns into a zombie: something authorities won’t allow. Her execution is scheduled to happen before transformation is complete, giving Dean only hours to break her out.  (For mature teens and older - mild violence.) See book trailer.

THE SURVIVOR CHRONICLES by Erica Stevens

The First tremors of the earth were felt at 7:22 EST. time. Every single person felt the rumbling, and experienced the tremors that would forever alter the course of history. Most did not survive. These are the accounts of some of those that did.  (First compilation of an ongoing serial story. This is not a survivalist story; other books in the series have zombie-like characters. Warning - language and graphic content. For readers 17 and older.)







Monday, June 16, 2014

Next Summer of Zombie Dates



Here are the rest of the upcoming Summer of Zombie events - I'll have an interview up on  June 22 so be sure to come back for the info. 

* Check Armand Rosamilia's blog for updated links. * See Facebook event for what's going on. Check #SummerZombie on Twitter for latest. 


Saturday June 14th
Timothy Baker (teaser) on Horror Tree Blog
Stevie Kopas (interview) on Claire C. Riley’s Blog
TW Piperbrook (guest post) on Words, Words, Words Blog

Sunday June 15th
Shawn Chesser (teaser) on Visionary Press Collaborative Blog
Claire C. Riley (interview) on Violet VanDoren’s Blog
Rhonda Parrish (Guest post) on Whatnot Blog

 Today: Monday June 16th
Stephen Kozeniewski (teaser) on Zombie Pop Blog
Erik Gustafson (interview) on Under The Oak Book Reviews Blog
Melanie Karsak (guest post) on Storyteller – S.K. Gregory’s Blog
Mark Tufo (interview) on Courtney Rene’s Blog

Tuesday June 17th
Thomas M. Malfa
rina (teaser) on Bryan Cassiday’s Blog
Julianne Snow (interview) on Heath Stallcup’s Blog
Bryan Cassiday (guest post) on Terrorphoria Blog

Wednesday June 18th
Ian McClellan (teaser) on Chazz Writes Blog
Robert Chazz Chute (interview) on Sparky Lee Geek’s Blog
Sarah Lyons Fleming (guest post)

Thursday June 19th
Peggy Martinez (teaser)
David P Forsyth (interview)
TS Alan (guest post)
Ian Woodhead (teaser)

Friday June 20th
John O’Brien (teaser)
Jaime Johnesee (interview)
Rebecca Besser (guest post

Saturday June 21st
Alex Laybourne (teaser)
Shana Festa (interview)
Chuck Ingersoll (guest post)

Sunday June 22nd
Kirk Allmond (teaser)
*** Christine Verstraete (interview)
Chris Tucker (guest post)

Monday June 23rd
Armand Rosamilia (teaser)
Timothy Baker (interview)
Claire C. Riley (guest post)
Bryan Cassiday (teaser)

Tuesday June 24th
Jay Wilburn (teaser)
Shawn Chesser (interview)
Erik Gustafson (guest post)
John O’Brien (interview)

Wednesday June 25th
Jack Wallen (teaser)
Melanie Karsak (interview)
Stephen Kozeniewski (guest post)

Thursday June 26th
T.W. Piperbrook (teaser)
Sarah Lyons Fleming (interview)
Julianne Snow (guest post)
Jaime Johnesee (guest post)

Friday June 27th
Stevie Kopas (teaser)
Alex Laybourne (interview)
Thomas M. Malfarina (guest post)
Rebecca Besser (teaser)

Saturday June 28th
Rhonda Parrish (teaser)
Ian McClellan (interview)
Robert Chazz Chute (guest post)

Sunday June 29th
Mark Tufo (teaser)
TS Alan (interview)
Peggy Martinez (guest post)

Monday June 30th
Armand Rosamilia (interview)
Ian Woodhead (guest post)
David P Forsyth (teaser)


Friday, June 13, 2014

Friday the 13th

It's Friday the 13th, so you know what that means:  Friday the 13th marathons on practically every channel on TV.  Wooooot!

Those films are some of the best from the slasher genre.  We own every single one that was ever made, including Freddy vs. Jason AND the remake that recently came out.  We're huge horror fans in my house.

If there's a set of horror films I like as much as zombies, it's slasher films.  That genre is so freaking fun!  And Friday the 13th helped start it all.  Like zombies, I like those films so much, I wrote an entire book about them.  (Yeah, I know, obsessed much?)


I hope you have an awesome and safe Friday the 13th.  I hear there is also a full moon.  Does it get any better?

Wednesday, June 11, 2014

Summer of Zombie: Meet Bob the Zombie

Summer of Zombie: Bob The Zombie (teaser) by Jaime Johnesee


Oops! We had a mix-up. The excerpt is actually  from Bob the Zombie but I'll include the Valentine guy too (cuz I like him!)

About Bob the Zombie: (46 pages) 
Life is rough, unlife can be even more difficult, especially when you're a zombie with bad luck. Follow Bob as he deals with all sorts of trouble. This is not your average zombie novella.



About the Book: (50 pages)
Dating is dead difficult. It's even worse when you're undead. Bob is back and this time he's celebrating Valentine's Day. February fourteenth is the perfect time to ask a crush out on a date, even if your luck runs more toward that of a disaster movie than a romance. After all, what's the worst  that could happen?


Excerpt: from Bob the Zombie:  I lead a very Griswoldian life. If you've ever seen those 'National Lampoon's Vacation' movies, you know what I mean. Even my death was hysterically funny. I was a twenty five year old college dropout and was living at home with my parents. In fact I had been hanging out, relaxing in their garden, when I decided to prune my mom's roses. I was cutting a stem that was growing too close to the house and turned to respond to a neighbor who hollered a hello. It's at that point the stepstool I was using tipped and I impaled myself, jugular first, on the pruning shears when I fell to the ground. Sure, at the time it was horrifying, but now I can look back, see the vague similarity to the earlier referenced Chevy Chase character, and laugh.
My mom, however, was distraught at my demise and she hired a witch who specialized in necromancy to bring me back. The spell went a little funny and, instead of being brought forth from the ground in a geyser of dirt, I awoke in my casket and had to dig my way out. Luckily, Mom waited for me and gave me a nice mug of hot chocolate after I dug myself out of the fetid earth. Unluckily, my body was dead so the hot chocolate really messed with my stomach and I threw up all over mom's shoes. She forgave me. It took some time to learn how to eat food again. Not to mention having to learn which foods I could tolerate better than others. Chicken nuggets are fine, but beets lead to Exorcist-style vomit.
It wasn't long before I had to leave home. The rotting began and it creeped my family out when large chunks of me fell off. The necromancer had told my mom it would happen, and had suggested I invest in a ton of cheap staples and a good stapler. The iron in the staples bonds with the magic that animates me and --voila!-- whatever has been reattached looks just like it did before it sloughed off. Not that it makes me good as new, what with the constant greenish hue and festering wounds, but it's nice to know that I won't have to worry about leaving pieces of myself behind.
The clouding of my eyes bothered my mom (and me, really) the most. I have the eyes of a corpse now, mostly because...hello, Undead American over here! Now, don't get me confused with the ghouls. No, we zombies are sentient, and able to talk for ourselves. Unlike ghouls nobody is pulling our strings. Nope, we're pretty much the same people we were before our death and raising, it's just that now we need a steady diet of meat. Sometimes, we can tolerate other foods...and nonfood items. As for me, I like cake.
Sadly, I don't get cake very often. There's not a lot of supernatural bakeries around, and it's not as if I can go into the town bakery up the road and ask for a quarter sheet cake without setting off warning bells. Most of the world has no clue supernatural creatures exist. The humans that need to know about it, already do, but everyone else is kept in the dark. I imagine if I did hike on up to the bakery the conversation would go something like this:
"Hello Ma'am I'd like a..."
"ZOMBIE!!!!" Then out comes the shotgun and off goes my head. Nope, I think I'll stick around with the other supernatural critters and stay away from humans. Even though these days when people do spot me they tend to think I'm just some special effects genius with a hard on for zombie fiction. I'm a much more complicated guy than that, really.
Take for example how much it hurt when my family rejected me. I didn't ask to be brought back from the dead. Oh, and before you ask, no, I don't have a gaping wound on my throat where the shears pierced me. The funeral directors sewed that up and it healed when I was raised. I came out of the ground whole, my only flaws being the scars marking the place that wound was and a shaving nick I received the morning of my death. I stayed looking mostly human for awhile, it took about two weeks for the decomp to actually start. I am told the woman who raised me must have been a very powerful necromancer as the rotting usually starts by sundown on the day of the raising. The greater the magic of the witch, the longer putrefaction is staved off. The best witch can raise and keep a zombie for up to six months before it starts decomposing. I was glad to have had those two weeks, but the ending of them broke my heart into a million pieces. Being asked to leave by your own mother is deeply painful. That she was the one who brought me back made it even worse.
So, there I went, off by my little old lonesome, when I ran across another zombie named Face. I won't get into why he is nicknamed Face, but let's just say it's not because he's pretty. Face and his crew were hanging at the cemetery, messing with the stoner kids. I soon found it was one of his favorite pastimes and that he visited every cemetery in town looking to mess with people. The kids would smoke a little pot (or drop acid) and Face would wait about ten minutes and start clawing his way out of a grave. We'd sit back and watch as the drug addled victims started pointing and screaming. Sometimes they ran, sometimes they soiled themselves, and once, a kid had a gun with him and I was almost shot in the shoulder.
The first time I saw them, though, I was hanging back in the tree line. I watched, and chuckled, as the kids spotted Face and began shrieking and running. After the humans hightailed it out of there, I came down and introduced myself. We became great friends and I became a member of their horde. Before you even ask, no, hordes aren't like gangs or mob branches. Hordes are...well, they're families. We might scare a few humans from time to time, but we don't harm anyone. We mostly just stick together and have fun.
Well, we did. Then I got a sort of mental memo from the Goddess. She told me that some woman needed my help in the course of her becoming the go between for God, the Goddess, and the world. The first time I met this chick she was asleep in the woods and a bunch of supernatural creatures had gathered around all with the same mission to help her. Each of us had received a similar psychic email from Goddess. My first impression was that she was a nice lady, but for the biggest hope the human race has ever had, she was a bit dim. I mean, honestly, who falls asleep in a forest? Although, it gives the phrase 'sawing logs' a whole new meaning. Anyway, after getting to know Holly Andrews a bit, I realized she wasn't dense, just overwhelmed. I can relate to her, and that. I'm overwhelmed on a daily basis. However, I try to make jokes and keep things light. Life is enough to beat you down all by itself. Keep a smile and a sarcastic comment close by and it can make things just a bit better.
I really do hate not being able to get out much, but I understand the rules of our society. For the most part, humans don't want to know that we various supernatural critters exist, and we hide from them to keep it that way. My friend Holly will change all of that. I can't tell you more about it now, but, one day you'll see. She is going to create a whole new world for us all, human and other. I have my own part in this new world and I am really proud of it. But, I digress, that's not what this story is about. No, that's a tale for another time. Instead I'm going to tell you more about my pals and me.
So, one of our favorite pastimes, other than scaring people at the cemeteries, is clubbing. We hit every zombie friendly club in town. I love to dance. Mostly, I love watching people smile and laugh when they see me dancing. I'm no Fred Astaire, or MC Hammer, but my dancing brings joy to most everyone who watches. Well, until a piece of myself flies off and hits someone. It happens more often than you'd think, and definitely more than I care to admit, but I've been reanimated for almost a decade now. Hardly anything on me is fresh these days, except my sarcasm. Don't wrinkle your nose up at me like that. I take daily showers and use a special deodorant. I don't reek. I may drop chunks of rotting flesh now and then, but I smell damn good doing it.
So, one day the Horde and I were at this club called Coyotes, just dancing and having fun, when my finger flew off me and into this icy blonde bitch's drink. Hey, it was AC/DC playing. One must dance 'Balls to the Wall' for Angus and his crew. Anyway, she was repulsed, understandably so. Decomposing fingers and strawberry daiquiris don't exactly go together. I must ask you, though, who the hell orders a frozen daiquiri at a night club? A restaurant/bar, sure, but a nightclub? Tacky! She turned out to be the owner's girlfriend. We were banned for life, or until he "switched broads." His words, not mine. I had a feeling our banning would be lifted soon, if the look she'd shot him meant anything.
We went looking for a new place to hang, and I heard from a guy, who heard from a werewolf, that this place called Martin's was a cool bar to chill at. The horde and I shambled on over there and were surprised when a wave of calm rolled over us as we entered. I whistled in surprise, "Hey, how about that?"
"What?" Face asked, confused.
"Someone here is an expath. That calm you feel is coming from them. Must keep bar fights to a minimum. Smart move on the owner's part."
"Thank you." A tall man with green hair, eyebrows, lashes, goatee, and even a slight greenish hue to his skin grinned at me.
"I take it you're the owner."
"Griffin Martin. Nice to meet you."
"Bob."
"Pleasure. Feel free to check out the jukebox, and the menu." He gave me a wink and headed back behind the bar.
"He seems like a nice fella," Face said as he scanned a menu he'd lifted from one of the many booths lining the walls.
"Yeah. I think I'm going to...oh, my Goddess!"
"What? What's wrong, man?"
"Absolutely nothing, Face. Everything is right. Do you see what he has over by the jukebox?"
"The videogame?"
"Videogame? Nay, my friend, that's not just any game. That, my dearest zombie brother, is an original Donkey Kong in mint condition."
"Bob, you're drooling." Face handed me a napkin and I swiped the corner of my mouth. Sure enough, there was a string of drool cascading down my face. Hey, don't judge me, it was an original Donkey Kong and it was cherry! I mean, come on! What can I say? I wasn't exactly Mr. Popularity before I was impaled on a pair of gardening shears. Videogames, and the conventions associated with them, made up the bulk of my social life.


 Jaime Johnesee is the author of Shifters and the Bob the Zombie series (the Clark Griswold of the Zombie world.) Check out her book info here.

                    *   *   *   *   *

The stench of rotting flesh is in the air! Welcome to the  Summer of Zombie Blog Tour 2014, with 30+ of the best zombie authors spreading the disease in the month of June.

Stop by the event page on Facebook so you don't miss an interview, guest post or teaser… and pick up some great swag as well! Giveaways galore from most of the authors as well as interaction with them! #SummerZombie





Monday, June 9, 2014

Summer of Zombie for the week

Summer of Zombie Recap:
* Check out my story for a laugh: "10 Reasons to Not Include Zombies at Your Party"

Sunday June 8th
Sarah Lyon Fleming (teaser) on Brewed Bohemian Blog
Thomas M. Malfarina (interview) on Hobbes End Publishing Blog
Ian McClellan (guest post) on Reviewing The Apocalypse Blog

* Here's the week's schedule for the Summer of Zombie event



Monday June 9th
Robert Chazz Chute (teaser) on Author Candy O’Donnell’s Blog
Peggy Martinez (interview) on LiteraryEllyMay’s Blog
David P Forsyth (guest post) on Zombie Evolution Blog
Charles Ingersoll (interview) at Books, Beer & Bullshit Blog


Tuesday June 10th
TS Alan (teaser) on Six Feet From Hell Blog
Ian Woodhead (interview) on Zombie Rising Magazine Blog
John O’Brien (guest post) on The Dark Fantastic Blog

Wednesday June 11th
* Come back for a post here on the GirlZombieAuthors blog  with Jaime Johnesee (teaser)
Rebecca Besser (interview)
Alex Laybourne (guest post)

Thursday June 12th
Shana Festa (teaser)
Jack Wallen (interview)
Jay Wilburn (guest post)

Friday June 13th
Chris Tucker (teaser)
Charles Ingersoll (interview)
Armand Rosamilia (guest post)

Saturday June 14th
Timothy Baker (teaser)
Stevie Kopas (interview)
TW Piperbrook (guest post)

Sunday June 15th
Shawn Chesser (teaser)
Claire C. Riley (interview)
Rhonda Parrish (Guest post)