Horror Outside of Zombies

Zombies are the best. There’s no denying that, and they are my go-to monster when I need a horror fix. But zombies aren’t the only horror monsters I enjoy. I’m also a huge fan of slasher films and creature features.

When I was younger, my dad always let us watch Monster Vision with him, so my love of horror grew from there. I remember seeing old Godzilla movies and terrible, terrible shows that I can’t remember the name of.

It wasn’t until I was older that I got into slasher films. I had seen a few A Nightmare on Elm Streets when I was in grade school, along with some Child’s Plays, but I wouldn’t have called myself a fan. That didn’t happen until I was in college.

I wrote my thesis on slasher films. My committee chair suggested it. I originally wanted to write about demons, but this topic was more focused. I’ll be honest, I wasn’t too sure about it at first. I didn’t think I would have a lot to say.

The focus of my thesis was the Friday the 13th films. My husband is a huge fan because he was born on the 13th. We had a blast watching them together. And I learned so much looking at them critically. To this day, I’m still hooked on slasher films. And yes, Jason is one of my all-time favorite killers. But I also really like Freddy. There’s something to be said about his sense of humor.

And I still really like creature features. Aliens or animals that have been mutated by nuclear whatever are my favorite. Like zombie films, I’ll watch anything in these genres, and rarely will I turn them off.

Do you have a favorite horror genre outside of zombies?

Baby Shoes Anthology On Sale!

* Not sure how long it'll last - but at least for next 12 hours  - anthology marked down!
 * 8/27 a.m. - Kindle version still marked down - print is back up to full price.

 Includes my zombie story, "Second Chances" in the Baby Shoes: 100 Stories by 100 Authors, 100 flash stories under 1,000 words by 100 authors - 

 *** 8/26 - On Sale! Marked down half for at least next 12 hours!

That weird old lady hoarder turns out to have the last laugh when zombies actually do appear.  When she goes to the day care in town, she spots the baby shoes in the hall and hopes she's not too late...


Excerpt from Second Chances by C.A. Verstraete... 

The strange flu came from nowhere. The news blared the rising death tolls hour by hour. Then came the panic and looting, especially once the real disaster became clear—the dead didn’t stay dead.

Lucky for me, being the “crazy hoarder” in the rundown house on the hill has some advantages: the zombies have easy pickings of the panicked citizens below, and I have a house full of goods. With everything I could need on hand from ointments and paper goods, to baby items, and all kinds of food, along with my rain barrels and homemade solar panels, I almost never have to leave home.

As I stood on my roof, rifle in hand, and watched people fleeing and trying to fight off the ghoulish hordes, something hit me. The fate of the adults didn’t matter. Heartless it might sound, but I knew it was them or me. But what about the truly helpless and defenseless? I didn't want to go out, but I couldn’t stop thinking about the day care center in town. I had to find out what had happened there.

I headed inside and threw some supplies into my backpack, my eyes drawn to the old box of baby clothes on the shelf. This time, instead of making me mourn my own loss, it filled me with purpose.

The back roads remained empty, most of the action centered along the main streets where people frantically tried to escape the encroaching undead. My ancient but reliable van putted up and around the hills, my luck holding as I encountered only a few ghouls wandering here and there. They turned and moaned at sight of my vehicle, then shambled after it at a snail's pace. I let them be, not wanting to draw others with the sound of gunfire.

To my relief, the downtown appeared pretty deserted as well, due to most people having been at work or home sick with the flu. The worst part is that many died at home, alone and forgotten, until they emerged undead.

*** Read  the rest in Baby Shoes: 100 Stories by 100 Authors

Looking for Readers

My young adult zombie book, Life After the Undead, is being re-released by Booktrope in October. My book manager and I are looking for ARC readers. All that is required is that you leave a review after reading the book.

If you don’t know what an ARC is, it’s an Advanced Reader Copy, which is sent out before the book is released. It’s a sneak peek at the work before it gets released to the world.

The book is a re-release, but things have been added and changed from the original version—not a ton, it’s not a completely different book. I would love for you to check it out!

If you’re interested, please let me know. You can comment here or send an email to pembrokesinclair at hotmail.com.

Here’s what the book is about:

Seventeen-year-old Krista must quickly figure out how she’s going to survive in the zombie-destroyed world. The one advantage humans have is that the zombies hate humid environments, so they’re migrating west to escape its deteriorating effects. The survivors plan to construct a wall at North Platte to keep the undead out, and Krista has come to Nebraska to start a new life.

Zombies aren’t the only creatures she has to be cautious of—the other survivors have a dark side. Krista must fight not only to live but also to defend everything she holds dear—her country, her freedom, and ultimately, those she loves.

Join Krista in her quest to survive in this thrilling apocalyptic novel by Pembroke Sinclair.

New YA #Zombie Story Coming!

Can't wait! The cover reveal is Sept. 1 for the Young Adventurers anthology where you'll get to see what Becca (from GIRL Z: My Life as a Teenage Zombie) is up to.

In my story, "Puppy Love & #Zombies," Becca - and her cousin Carm - solve a mystery, while Becca faces her fear of dogs. In this case, one of the dogs is a cute little German Shepherd puppy....

Stay tuned!!!!

GIRL Z: My Life as a Teenage #Zombie - Zombie Book in Pictures

   
For fun, I thought I'd share some random photos covering themes in my young adult book, Girl Z: My Life As A Teenage Zombie by C.A. Verstraete. (See all book links.)

I won't fill in all the details, but will share a few quotes from Becca, my teen girl-turned-part-zombie. Otherwise, I'll let you read the book to see what it's about!

Quote - from Prologue: 

"Relax, it'll be fine," she said.
   "No, it won't," I yelled, "it won't!"
   How could looking like freaking King Tut without his wrappings ever be fine? 

* * * *

With a cry, I lunged for the table and grabbed the plate. Chicken. I loved chicken—

chicken enchiladas, chicken quesadillas, chicken parmesan. Mmm! 

And... the best of both worlds - pre-part-zombie, of course! Betty Crocker Chicken Enchilada Dip. 

* * * *

That could only mean—I wasn't a medical zombie, but a real, Hollywood movie, creepy,

disgusting, flesh-eating— zombie? But how, when the nurse said—?

"No, NO! I screamed. "I'm not like that. I'm NOT! NO, I won't be. NO!" 

* * *  * 

"Carm, what did Spence do at that job?"

She shrugged. "I don't know, but my brother didn't always have the best judgment. He called my mom and told her something was wrong in the lab, something big. He was doing stuff he wasn't qualified for. Then he never called back." 

 (You can also read what about happened to Spence before he got home in my short story,  CHANGES: A GIRL Z Prequel, A Zombie Story.
  

Upcoming Online #Zombie Events

It's almost fall (noooo,  I'm not done with summer!) which means it's really not too early to think about Halloween and other events. If you like Zombie books, then mark these down for lots of great interviews, giveaways, and more with tons of great authors.

I'll post more details and authors, etc. as I learn more.

What's coming up:



Toni Lesatz is again hosting Z October over at MyBookAddiction.com.

Author Armand Rosamilia is again hosting the Winter of Zombie 2015 in November. Check the Facebook page for authors in late October.

The Evolution of Zombies

Last weekend, my husband and I watched Extinction (2015).

It wasn’t terrible, but it had some issues. The biggest was that it drove my husband nuts that the zombies evolved to survive in a winter wonderland without hair. There were a few other problems too—mainly with the characters not being the sharpest tools in the shed—but on the whole it was a good movie. I enjoyed it. And since zombies are fictional, anyone can make up anything they want about them.

It got me thinking about the evolution of zombies through time and how they’ve changed to be scarier. The first change they went through was from slow, shambling zombies in Night of the Living Dead to fast in 28 Days Later.

This totally changed the genre. Not only did zombies have numbers on their side, but now they had speed. They had been difficult to deal with when they were slow, now they were ridiculous scary and hard to take down.

In World War Z, not only were they fast but they exhibited some intelligence. They were able to sense when a host was infected with a life-threatening disease and view them an unviable for passing on whatever made them zombies.

This isn’t the first time zombies have shown intelligence. In Day of the Dead, Bub is able to remember certain aspects of his human life and by the end of the film, he remembers how to use a gun to get revenge.

Extinction proposes another step in the evolutionary chain. It’s not a perfect step, but it’s a start. And it makes me wonder where the zombie genre is going to go. Will zombies become even more intelligent? Will they become faster? Will they gain strength and become superzombies?

In the next zombie book I’m working on (not actually at the moment, but soon), I have some evolved zombies. It’s really fun to explore the possibilities. I can’t wait to see what comes next.

#Zombie Apocalypse Survival

Imagine you have to survive after a Zombie or other attack. What would you need?

Well, some survivalists have it all figured out with all kinds of equipment and gadgets. 

But here's a trivia question - if you have to preserve food, what is the one ingredient that will help food last longer and fight mold? 

You'd be surprised as this suggestion comes from an 18th century cookbook on preserving strawberries. Who knew? I sure didn't so thought I'd share something different.

(See? You learn all kinds of things here!)

#Horror Movie Sequels & Remakes

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Sequels:

You can't help but cringe when you hear about old favorites getting sequels or being remade (and why?))

A favorite is Beetlejuice. (1988 - really?) Beetlejuice 2 is in the works. At least it's still Tim Burton and Michael Keaton. Hope it's as good. 

 Another favorite is Zombieland - can they keep the humor and fun intact in Zombieland 2?






Remakes:

Here's where it gets touchy. Usually you have to say, really? Most are not needed and are not a good idea.






 There were rumors about remaking Hitchcock's The Birds (1963). Now that takes some guts to even think you can do better or even want to try.

Then there are classics like Poltergeist,(1982) with  a remake already out. Some really don't need to be remade. Haven't seen it, have you? 

I loved The Stand book by Stephen King. And while the movie was cheesy at times, I liked it. Not sure where the big remake stands right now. 

Here are some other films The Telegraph lists for reboots or remakes. (Another Frankenstein? You really can't top Karloff from the 1931 original. You'll have to be the judge of the others.)

Share your thoughts or comments on your favorites.

The Girl with All the Gifts by M.R. Carey

A while ago, I posted about some zombie books I had found. Well, I finally had a chance to get through one of them, and I wanted to share my thoughts about the book.

A friend on Facebook recommended this to me, so I went to Amazon to check it out. Mystery surrounds what the book is about, and the description is vague yet intriguing. Here’s what it says:

Melanie is a very special girl. Dr Caldwell calls her "our little genius."

Every morning, Melanie waits in her cell to be collected for class. When they come for her, Sergeant keeps his gun pointing at her while two of his people strap her into the wheelchair. She thinks they don't like her. She jokes that she won't bite, but they don't laugh.

The Girl With All the Gifts is a groundbreaking thriller, emotionally charged and gripping from beginning to end.

Even in the reviews there’s this desire to keep the story a bit of a secret. I understand why. It makes it more intriguing, but at the same time, I bought it knowing it was a zombie novel (and now you know too), and I don’t think knowing that took anything away from the thrill of the book.

There are several other twists and surprises throughout the story, but I won’t reveal what those are. They have to be experienced first-hand to truly be appreciated.

What I will say is that this story was amazing! The author did an awesome job of creating a post-apocalyptic world that I haven’t seen before. He developed characters that I cared about and became emotionally attached to. By the end of it, I was smiling and pleased with the outcome. I got chills because the book made such an impact and impression on me.

There were a few stereotypes in the story, especially when it came to how science and scientists or the zombies were portrayed, but that was expected. There are certain tropes that exist within the genre, and I fully expected them to be there. However, I was pleasantly surprised that he undermines a few of those expectations later in the story.

If you’re looking for gore, this may not be the book for you. There’s some, but it’s not over the top—which often occurs in zombie books and films. There’s violence, but it’s not horrific. And if you’re reading a zombie book, you expect it to be there anyway.

I would definitely recommend this book, even if you aren’t a hardcore zombie fan. It deals much more with the human side of the zombie situation and focuses on my favorite question: What does it mean to be human?

It is Finished! The Mind Over Trilogy

by Karina Fabian

 

Like so many authors of zombie fiction, it’s not the only genre I write. Much as I love writing about Neeta Lyffe removing zombie heads and not bothering to take names because they’re Reanimated Post-Consumer Bipeds, plenty of other stories plague my mind. 

I’m proud – thrilled – relieved - to announce that one such story has now come to its conclusion, with my latest book, Mind Over All. 

Mind Over All finishes the Mind Over Trilogy, which follows the adventures of Deryl Stephens, a psychic whose powers drove him insane, and Joshua Lawson, a psychiatric intern and Deryl’s best friend. In Book One, Mind Over Mind, Deryl finds his way back to sanity with the help of Joshua – and guess what? The voices in his head are real, not only the thoughts of the people around him but also of two aliens who are leaders on opposite sides of a war and want to use Deryl to help them secure victory. 

In Book Two, Mind Over Psyche, Deryl escapes the asylum and teleports to one of the planets. There, they meet Tasmae one of the aliens, who is now going crazy herself thanks to Deryl’s influence. (Lots of crazy in the books, but I think her crazy was the most fun to write.) Deryl helps her find her way back to her own mind again. They fall in love, and he breaks free of the influence of the other alien, Alugiac. 

Now, in Book Three, Mind Over All, Deryl and Tasmae are married and expecting their first child, but instead of a happy ending, the two planets themselves are in danger. Tasmae may be able to prevent the other world from crashing into theirs, but only at the expense of her life, the life of their baby – and about half the population of their world. Deryl must find a way to save both worlds before he loses the people he loves best.

This was a story I first started thinking up in college, nearly 30 years ago. Fifteen years later, I took that college novel, destroyed it, reconstructed it from the foundation into the trilogy, and wrote the first novel. Now, at long last, I have written the final words – plus a novella to finish Joshua’s storyline and get him hitched to his longtime fiancé. There may be other stories later, but for now, everyone got their happy ending, and I can set it aside.

If you’re interested in reading some of my non-humor works, please check out the series at http://fabianspacecom.

This Week's #Zombie #Horror #Mystery Book News

 

Quite  a few new and upcoming projects that look mighty interesting, so make space in your Kindle and real-life bookshelves! Some neat anthologies!



Of note:  

X-Files: Trust No One
 Jonathan  Maberry edits a new set of case files, with stories by Heather Graham, Brian Keene, Max Allan Collins, David Benton, W.D. Gagliani and others.







The Love-Haight Casefiles: Seeking Supernatural Justice from Jean Rabe and Don Bingle.

How about gargoyles coming to un-life, zombies, ghosts and other creatures looking for supernatural justice?  Attorneys for the OT's (Other-than-Humans) have their hands full representing their unusual clients. Horror-mystery-and more!  Read more about the book in the Big Thrill Newsletter. 







* My story, "Second Chances" by C.A. Verstraete about an old lady hoarder is now out both in Kindle and print in the recently released Baby Shoes: 100 Stories by 100 Authors - 100 flash stories under 1,000 words by 100 authors - (All Amazon links  - Print,  394 pages. ) 

* Stay tuned: 
Z Resurrrected is a new anthology coming soon with stories from Dana   Fredsti, Mark Tufo, Joe McKinney, Tom Leveen, and Eric A Shelman. Check out the mailing list for news. Trailer coming this month.







   * Coming Soon:
 A new, shared world/interactive zombie anthology from Crystal Lake Publishing, Children of the Grave, with stories by Tonia Brown, Alex Laybourne,  Aurelio Lopez III, Joe Mynhardt, Joe McKinney and Armand Rosamilia should be out in late August/early September.