Lisa Morton and The Mammoth Book Zombie Apocalypse-Fight Back!

It's week 2 with Lisa Morton, and today, she's talking about the second Zombie Apocalypse anthology, Fight Back.  This and the original tie in to her novel Apocalypse: Washington Deceased coming out in 2014.

ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE! -  Fight Back:  Set in the near-future, this sequel to the innovative “mosaic novel” Zombie Apocalypse weaves together various “voices” in the form of essays, reports, letters, official documents, and transcripts relating to the fightback against the New Zombie Order.


Lisa's Story: 

For ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE: FIGHT BACK (2012), I was assigned a story, "Day of the Dead", about an intelligent zombie general leading his ravenous army through Southern California. This one also involved vast amounts of research, this time into military strategies and reports. The protagonist in this story, General Dawson, will be making a return appearance in my 2014 novel ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE: WASHINGTON DECEASED. Visit her Website: http://www.lisamorton.com or Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lisa.morton.165

About Lisa: Four-time Bram Stoker Award winning author and screenwriter "Her work is consistently dark, unsettling, and frightening" - American Library Association's READERS' ADVISORY GUIDE TO HORROR TRICK OR TREAT: A HISTORY OF HALLOWEEN - Reaktion Books WITCH HUNTS: A GRAPHIC HISTORY OF THE BURNING TIMES - McFarland SUMMER'S END: A HALLOWEEN NOVELLA - coming from JournalStone (October 2013) MALEDICTION - Coming from Evil Jester Press (October 2013)

Zombie author Angela Meadon and A Taste of You

I'm getting ready for a zombie hunting trip. Well, no, actually, it's a third honeymoon cruise with my husband. Much more fun! Anyway, while I'm off being spoiled getting a taste of the Eastern Mediterranean, Angela Meadon is here to tell you about her book, A Taste of You.

About A Taste of You: The undead have risen from their graves. Robin, Carla, and Dylan must try and escape the city and make their way to a secluded nature reserve. Robin is haunted by dreams of her younger brother who died by her own hand a year ago. Will they make it to safety? Will Robin be able to overcome her guilt? Who will survive the rising of the dead?

Website (with trailer): http://atasteofyou.com/

Buy on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/A-Taste-of-You-ebook/dp/B00AH85VAE/ref=la_B00AQE5NEI_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1370254677&sr=1-4

Angela Talks about A Taste of You:

My debut novel, A Taste of You, was published by Damnation Books in December 2012. This was an incredible moment in my career and the book was a culmination of a lot of work (read about my journey in writing the book).

Today I thought I would share some of the sources of inspiration that fuelled my brain and produced this novel.

First and foremost, I have to give huge credit to World War Z by Max Brooks. This amazing portrayal of the zombie apocalypse is what got me hooked on the post-apocalypse genre, and the gruesome flesh-eaters in particular. A lot of my ideas for the behavior of the zombies comes from Brooks, although my explanation for them is probably the polar opposite of Brooks’ virus.

I read a lot of other books about the zombie apocalypse and I have to say that WWZ stands head-and-shoulders above the rest for skill and terror.

Secondly, Robert Kirkman’s incredible graphic novel, The Walking Dead, had me hooked from the very first issue. I have re-read the series now and am still amazed by Kirkman’s storytelling. Also, the way people die, suddenly and without remorse when they do stupid things. That’s what would happen in a real-life zombie apocalypse. Shit happens, then you’re zombie food. I definitely incorporated this attitude into A Taste of You.

Both the book and movie versions of Cormac McCarthy’s The Road chilled me deeply. The unforgiving emptiness of the world, and the violent nature of ungoverned humans struck a chord in my mind. That’s what it would be like, I thought to myself and my novel reflects this. I’ve read a lot more McCarthy since and I am blown away by his work.

Of course, I think that every novel I have read, and every movie I have watched, has some influence on my writing. But I think that these three sources form the foundation of A Taste of You.

About Angela:  Angela is an author of fiction and non-fiction work. Her stories can be found in numerous anthologies. Angela’s novel about the zombie apocalypse with a dash of psychological terror and a sprinkling of guilt, A Taste of You (Amazon), was published in December 2012.

Angela lives in Johannesburg, South Africa with her two sons, three cats and a husband who rick-rolled her at the altar on their wedding day.

Angela’s website: www.meadon.co.za

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AngelaMeadon

Twitter: https://twitter.com/angelameadon

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Angela-Meadon/e/B00AQE5NEI

Barbara Custer, author of zombie book, Steel Rose

About Zombie Book, Steel Rose by Barbara Custer:

The denizens of hell attack. The zombies feed. She's their meal. Sometimes they come back. At least the Kryszka aliens do. Their leader injects captured humans with a drug, turning them into zombies. Yeron escapes the Kryszka Colony, hoping to practice medicine on the humans who fear him. Alexis-a patient-is afraid too, until his seductive attentions arouse her. Despite his experimental drug, severe arthritis leaves her too weak to handle most guns. The Kryszka troops and zombies who break into the hospital are hungry. Very hungry. How will she fight them?

The Story behind Steel Rose

Before I wrote Steel Rose, I had arthritis in both wrists and needed surgery. I hoped that science could invent an easy operation or drug to rebuild my cartilage. Although I embellished a lot, many of the physical difficulties protagonist Alexis had on her job happened in real life. 

Other inspirations were seasoned into Steel Rose; Tom Johnson and I coauthored Starship Invasions, where aliens and humans interacted on a daily basis. City of Brotherly Death came next with its zombies and revenants, creatures invented by my nightmares. Before I wrote Steel Rose, I read about a respiratory therapist who’d been convicted of killing six patients with Pavulon, a drug that stops a patient’s respirations when they go on a ventilator. I was also caring for my husband Mike, who had Parkinson’s disease. What would I do if hostile aliens or zombies broke into our home?

 

Why zombies? I read a lot of zombie novels and wonder how people would handle an invasion in real life. Like many authors who write horror, I’m trying to face my secret fears. I’ve feared skeletons since I was ten, when I saw a mummy up close and personal, sitting up in a sarcophagus, waving her arm. Later on, I’d found out that the entertainer was using props to make the body move, but at the time, I thought that this mummy was reaching for me. I tore out of that pavilion fast. You can get the details about my encounter here. 

That encounter, among other things, has spurred me into writing zombie tales. Alexis will be kicking serious zombie butt in Steel Rose and the sequel. How she does it, given her health challenges – well…you’ll have to read the book. 

Order a signed copy through PayPal for $19.00 postpaid.

Purchase a paperback version through Amazon here.

You can download the Kindle version here.

Purchase a paperback through Barnes & Noble here.

 Steel Rose is available in Nook and Kobo, too.