Upcoming #Horror #Zombie Movies

Fellow blogger Pembroke is taking a little break so since Friday is usually her movie post day, I thought I'd share about a few upcoming movies I spotted on Movie Insider.

Anyone see Pride, Prejudice and Zombies yet??? 

This was such an entertaining book so I wanted to see this.
I did hear that some reviews weren't good but... ? It's a zombie 
movie... There have been much worse... 

   A zombie outbreak has fallen upon the land in this reimagining of Jane Austen’s classic tale of the tangled relationships between lovers from different social classes in 19th century England. Feisty heroine Elizabeth Bennet (Lily James) is a master of martial arts and weaponry and the handsome Mr. Darcy (Sam Riley) is a fierce zombie killer, yet the epitome of upper class prejudice. As the zombie outbreak intensifies, they must swallow their pride and join forces on the blood-soaked battlefield in order to conquer the undead once and for all. 

Out April 1: (April's Fools Day.... hmm...)

 

Another twist?… Belle and her family move into a new house, but when strange phenomena begin to occur in the house, Belle begins to suspect her Mother isn’t telling her everything and soon realizes they just moved into the infamous Amityville house. 







Apocalypse film? Looks good...

Pandemic is set in the near future, where a virus of epic proportions has overtaken the planet. There are more infected than uninfected, and humanity is losing its grip on survival. Its only hope is finding a cure and keeping the infected contained. Lauren (Rachel Nichols) is a doctor, who, after the fall of New York, comes to Los Angeles to lead a team to hunt for and rescue uninfected survivors.

Out June 10:

    Didn't see the first one, and you know how sequels go...

Sequel to 2013 film - Reprising their roles, Oscar nominee Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson star as Lorraine and Ed Warren, who, in one of their most terrifying paranormal investigations, travel to north London to help a single mother raising four children alone in a house plagued by malicious spirits. 

** YOUR TURN: Which movies did you see that you'd recommend or want to see???

New #Paranormal #Ghost Anthology #spaco

Just saw this so posting late -
Free to 2/29 - get a Kindle copy of my pal Courtney's new anthology....

Read it and  be sure to post a review!

Congrats Stoker Award Nominee Finalists!

 

   The final ballot for the Bram Stoker Awards from the Horror Writers Assn. is out! Congrats to all! See full list. 

I'm listing just a few of the categories. (And isn't it refreshing to see small presses and self-published books on an awards list!)

The nominees are:

Superior Achievement in a Novel
Clive Barker – The Scarlet Gospels (St. Martin’s Press)
Michaelbrent Collings – The Deep (self-published)
JG Faherty – The Cure (Samhain Publishing)
Patrick Freivald – Black Tide (JournalStone Publishing)
Paul Tremblay – A Head Full of Ghosts (William Morrow)

Superior Achievement in a First Novel
Courtney Alameda – Shutter (Feiwel & Friends)
Nicole Cushing – Mr. Suicide (Word Horde)
Brian Kirk – We Are Monsters (Samhain Publishing)
John McIlveen – Hannahwhere (Crossroad Press)
John Claude Smith – Riding the Centipede (Omnium Gatherum)

Superior Achievement in a Young Adult Novel
Jennifer Brozek – Never Let Me Sleep (Permuted Press) ** apocalypse 
Michaelbrent Collings – The Ridealong (self-published)
John Dixon – Devil’s Pocket (Simon & Schuster)
Tonya Hurley – Hallowed (Simon & Schuster)
Maureen Johnson – The Shadow Cabinet (Penguin)
Ian Welke – End Times at Ridgemont High (Omnium Gatherum)

Superior Achievement in Long Fiction

Gary A. Braunbeck – Paper Cuts (Seize the Night) (Gallery Books)

Lisa Mannetti – The Box Jumper (Smart Rhino Publications)

Norman Partridge – Special Collections (The Library of the Dead) (Written Backwards)
Mercedes M. Yardley – Little Dead Red (Grimm Mistresses) (Ragnarok Publications)
Scott Edelman – Becoming Invisible, Becoming Seen (Dark Discoveries #30)

Superior Achievement in Short Fiction
Kate Jonez – All the Day You’ll Have Good Luck (Black Static #47)
Gene O’Neill – The Algernon Effect (White Noise Press)
 **John Palisano – Happy Joe’s Rest Stop (18 Wheels of Horror) (Big Time Books) (*Reading his zombie book, Dust of the Dead)
Damien Angelica Walters – Sing Me Your Scars (Sing Me Your Scars) (Apex Publications)
Alyssa Wong – Hungry Daughters of Starving Mothers (Nightmare Magazine #37)

Superior Achievement in an Anthology

Michael Bailey – The Library of the Dead (Written Backwards)
Ellen Datlow – The Doll Collection: Seventeen Brand-New Tales of Dolls (Tor Books) (*This sure looked like an interesting collection to read.)
Christopher Golden – Seize the Night (Gallery Books)
Nancy Kilpatrick and Caro Soles – nEvermore! (Edge Science Fiction and Fantasy Publishing)
Jonathan Maberry – The X-Files: Trust No One (IDW Publishing) ( ** Has a new anthology coming out with George Romero and stories based on Night of the Living Dead!) 
Joseph Nassise and Del Howison – Midian Unmade (Tor Books)

Superior Achievement in a Fiction Collection
Gary A. Braunbeck – Halfway Down the Stairs (JournalStone Publishing)
Nicole Cushing – The Mirrors (Cycatrix Press)
Taylor Grant – The Dark at the End of the Tunnel (Cemetery Dance Publications)
Gene O’Neill – The Hitchhiking Effect (Dark Renaissance Books)
Lucy A. Snyder – While the Black Stars Burn (Raw Dog Screaming Press)

#Horror Reading - King's Bazaar of Bad Dreams

As you can tell if you've been by this blog before, I love to read, but I also skip around a lot. I start reading a book and then start reading another one.  I have several I've started already.

Only a handful of books, it seems, catch my attention enough that I keep reading straight through. That usually happens when the book is different than what I've read before, is something historical as they usually are more complex, or the writer really grabs me. 

I've been a longtime Stephen King fan, so I've been looking forward to reading his latest collection, The Bazaar of Bad Dreams: Stories.  As he says in the introduction and he's right, short stories do take a different skill set from longer stories. You have less time to set things up, to get the point, and it comes with a bigger glare if the story misses. 

I've only begun reading the first story, Mile 81, which King claims is one of his favorites. I had to laugh as the main horror focus, so far, is kind of cliched but also a kind of typical King device, as well. I'll say that I'm intrigued enough that I want to find out what is going on fully before I make a decision on whether I like this one or not.  No matter what, he is  a master at describing the scene and making you really see the characters--and keeping you reading even if you're not quite sure how you feel about the story or not. 

I'll try to give a little synopsis on the stories as I read them.

** Your Turn: Got a favorite King book or story? Why? Or have you read this collection yet? What'd you think?

Some #Horror Fun

Here's a fun, creepy little item I saw that just had to share! - The Creeping Tentacle or Plug-in Cthulhu - plugs right into the computer USB port. ($14.99 at ThinkGeek)

haa! It moves!! 

Zombie Fun

Let's have some fun!  Which would you prefer of the following and why:

1.  During the zombie uprising, would you prefer to be

On an island
In a city
In a rural town

2.  During the zombie uprising, which is your preferred weapon

Katana
Handgun with ammunition
Ax

3.  During the zombie uprising, which would you prefer to have

First Aid kit
Antibiotics
Book about natural remedies

4.  During the zombie uprising, what would you rather have

Tennis shoes
Steel-toed boots
Hiking boots

There are no right or wrong answers.  This is just for fun.  Leave your comments and tell me why you picked what you picked (only one from each group)!

Two Writing Hats

Been pretty busy writing nonfiction these days so other things are on hold or at least I'm behind on them.

Will try to think up some new blogs this week.

There is a book circulating to publishers - still. Yes, it has zombies. Stay tuned...

Happy Valentine's Day - #Zombie Style!

Wishing you a Happy Valentine's Day!

I saw this and if you're looking for something different... (hey, the ingredients sound delicious!)

My Latest Zombie Books

I finished the incredibly rough draft of my latest young adult zombie novel this week. I handwrite the first draft, so I’m in the process of typing it, then it needs edited—badly! But I’m very excited to have it done.

I think I may even have the title of the series and the title for the first book. It’s all tentative right now. Things could change when I go through and fix the story. It’s happened before. Still, it feels really, really good to have it done.

On top of that, Death to the Undead, the sequel to Life After the Undead, also came out this week. It’s early. It wasn’t supposed to come out until the 16th. I’m excited about that too. If you have the chance, I would love it if you checked it out.

I recommend reading the first so you know what’s going on, but it’s on sale right now through Valentine’s Day. It’s $1.99 on Kindle.

I hope you all have a fabulously wonderful weekend. I’m looking forward to some rest and relaxation. You have any big plans?

Death to the Undead - #Zombie Book 2

Fellow blogger Pembroke Sinclair's book two in her series is now out!

Death to the Undead (Life After the Undead Book 2)

Seventeen-year-old Krista has already proven she can survive the zombie hordes. 

After moving to North Platte with her distant cousin General Liet to help build a wall that will keep the zombies in the West, it becomes apparent that the zombies aren’t the biggest threat—some survivors are far more dangerous than Krista had ever imagined. 

With the help of Quinn, a survivor and fighter from the zombie-infested wildlands of the West, they free the garrison at North Platte from the power-hungry Liet. But there is a bigger battle to fight. 

The Families who rule Florida and use intimidation and the threat of the zombie horde to coerce their territory want Krista and Quinn captured, the zombies want to devour them, and other survivors want them dead. Caught between powerful forces, will they survive long enough to devise a new plan and put it into action? Or will they self-destruct?  - Amazon.com

The Troll Hunter – A Review

This movie was awesome! I’m not normally a fan of found-footage films, but I had heard good things about this one, so I checked it out. Wow!

It wasn’t a horror film, it was a fantasy movie. My boys (7 and 8) watched it with me, and it didn’t frighten them at all—well, at least they told me it didn’t (and they didn’t have nightmares, so I believed them). It was done really well, and the trolls were just spectacular. It made me feel like a kid discovering something new for the first time. The film did a wonderful job of evoking emotion. I smiled with joy numerous times while watching it.

In a nutshell, the film is about three college students who are making a documentary about bear attacks in the Norwegian wild. But what they find is that it isn’t a bear, it’s the trolls. There’s conspiracies and cover ups, and it’s just really interesting.

I don’t know a lot about trolls, but this film made me want to learn more. It also made me want to investigate Norwegian history and their relationship with trolls. Seriously, it was a great film. I really enjoyed it.

Has anyone else seen this film? What did you think?

#1LineWed - #Zombie Books

If you don't know what #1LineWed means - it's One Line Wednesday.

I have some new stuff I'm working on but not ready to share yet.  So I'm again sharing a line from my story, "Puppy Love and Zombies" in the anthology, Young Adventurers: Heroes, Explorers & Swashbucklers 

In the story, Becca, my part-zombie girl from my book, Girl Z: My Life As A Teenage Zombie, faces her fear of dogs and solves a mystery when her German Shepherd pup-and other dogs--go missing.  Yes, it has a couple zombie scenes in it, too...

(See details below - comment for contest!)

Here's a line from the story:  

The two came at me, low moans coming from what remained of their decayed lips.


** I'll also share a line from  - or at Barnes and Noble.

A creepy-crawly feeling enveloped me, but what Spence did reassured me that my biggest fears wouldn't happen--no doorknob rattling, no door squeaking, no turning to find a ghoulish version of him standing there. 




CONTEST - Giveaway!! 
NOTE: Comment here at the blog about the books or zombies to enter in a drawing to win a free e-book copy of CHANGES. It could use some reviews!  Be sure to leave a way to contact you. I'll pick two winners. 

  ** BONUS! You can also see what happened to Becca's cousin, Spence, before he got home in CHANGES: A GIRL Z Prequel, A Zombie Story   -- get copy at Barnes and Noble.

One line:

No, not people anymore. Creatures. Monsters. The stuff of Halloween nightmares.

See more at my website.  Happy Wednesday! 

New #Zombie Book Monday

Here are some new, recently released or upcoming zombie book covers that caught my eye. I haven't read them, so you be the judge. All descriptions are from Amazon.com

Alone: A Zombie Novel - (Pre-order, publishing April 16, 251 pgs.) For the past two years, Jules has floated through life.  When the virus was released it changed everything about the world. Jules lost her mom and her home, forcing her to live with the father she barely knows. Now, even as society works to rebuild, Jules still feels like she doesn’t quite fit in. Then she meets Roman.

Drawl: Surviving the Zombie Apocalypse (Duncan's Story) - (239 pgs.) Drawl, Book 10 in the best-selling Surviving the Zombie Apocalypse series, is Duncan’s story of survival. Due to possible spoilers, it is meant to be read in numerical order with the other Surviving the Zombie Apocalypse novels—beginning with the one that started it all: Trudge: Surviving the Zombie Apocalypse. 

   The Zombie Chronicles - book 9 - Siege (Apocalypse Infection Unleashed) - (172 pgs. , Publishing Feb. 22) Dean and the gang head home to Sandusky, Ohio. Dean, Val, and Nick want to meet up with their parents and grandmother. Not knowing if they're dead or alive, they keep hopeful. Can they make it back to their old home? Can they get the cure into the right hands? 

(I'm only including this next one since I thought I’d seen every zombie book category…until now…)

Zombie Apocalypse: Zombie Stripper ( Witness the apocalypse through the eyes of this undead Cinderella) (49 pgs.) Welcome to the year 2565. This is a world without life, a world devoid of almost everything…..Except zombies.  

Meet Mackenzie Grace; she’s a stripper with a heart of gold and a killer body to match. Oh yeah, she’s also a Zombie. In this Erotic Tale, we get to see life through the eyes of this undead Cinderella. - Amazon.com

Zombie Theorem: The Culling Book one (231 pgs.) Dan, a middle manager working in San Francisco, is thrust into a fight for his life. He must overcome who he is and learn to fight for his life and lead those around him. While surviving, he finds the real reason for the Zombie outbreak and is pulled into a whole new fight. This time against a shadowy power calling themselves the Culling Initiative.