Why zombies?

                                 Me on a Monday after losing an hour of sleep. Damn you daylight savings!
                                Have you zombified yourself yet? Go to AMC The Walking Dead Website.

                       First of all, this is my first post and I want to thank Christine for inviting me. :)

Who am I?

 My name is Kristen Middleton and I am the author of the Zombie Games Series, which was first published in May of 2012. I live in the Midwest with my hubby, Dave, and two daughters, Cassie and Allie. During the day I run a small daycare and at night after my family goes to bed, I pick my brain for new ways to kill the undead while putting a smile on my reader's faces. Most of my books have an element of humor which makes writing more enjoyable for me, as most would say- I'm a little wacky myself.

                                                        The Zombie Craze -

Before I even considered writing Zombie Games, I spent most of my days watching children running through my yard playing 'tag'. It wasn't until I realized that they were pretending to be zombies that I started to take more notice of this new undead craze that had even captured the interest of preschoolers. Then there was my husband and two young daughters, all monopolizing my Kindle because of an application called "Plants vs Zombies". It didn't take me long to figure out that zombies were now the thing and I could either embrace or ignore that fact. Being a horror book and movie fanatic, I obviously opened my arms as well as my laptop and began my own journey into the world of rigamortis, blood, and rotting flesh. Speaking of rotting flesh - Vicks anyone?

(Make sure you have a jar in your bathroom if there ever is a zombie apocalypse, it masks the smell of death and makes you sleep easier at night when you have that dreaded cold-even a zombie apocalypse won't wipe out the common cold-I'm just saying)

But seriously, why are zombies so interesting? I think there are many reasons that people love to read and watch movies about zombies, first thing being is that it allows us to escape for a while into a world (which we know we can come back from) where nothing matters but staying alive and taking our aggressions out on objects that won't make us feel guilty about doing so (besides, they want to eat our brains!). It's also the end of bills, finding a better job,  and those annoying telemarketers. Besides getting the heart pumping and reminding us how vulnerable we really are, why do you think zombies are so popular these days?

Zombie Brains! The anytime snack....

Found an improvement on the old zombie brains snack....

How about some filled chocolate brains? Mmmmm....

Comes with your choice of vanilla, raspberry or vanilla cream. Six for $10 from Knot The Ordinary on Etsy, which specializes in Rice Krispies treats.  Yes, they have those kinds of brains too. Cool, huh?

Unconventional Zombie Book Giveaway

About a month ago, I posted about Unconventional Zombies.  In that post, I mentioned my book, Coming from Nowhere.  Do you want a chance to win a copy of that book? Click on the link below, follow the instructions, and you'll be entered into the contest.

You know you wanna!

JD does not have a past--at least not one that she can remember--and that makes living life on Mars challenging.

With nowhere to go, she is sent to the local military academy where she is trained to become a member of the elite secret police. While there, she becomes a pawn in Roger’s struggle for military dominance and Chris’s rebellion to overthrow the military regime.

She supposedly holds a secret that will change the face of the soldier, but, unfortunately, she doesn’t know what that secret is. Her only desire is to find the truth of her existence, and finds herself thrust into a realm where the truth of her past and present is more horrific than she ever imagined.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Excerpt from "The Zombie Syndrome"

When I wrote Neeta Lyffe, Zombie Exterminator, I decided to do something different.  Since the plot took place in Hollywood at a reality TV show, I had one of the writers working on his documentary about zombies.  It turned out to be a really fun way to introduce people to my world, crack a lot of jokes, and do some fun things with zombies that did not fit in the events of the novel.  I’d like to share a bit of that with you.

Incidentally, both this incident and Gary Opkast make an appearance in I Left My Brains in San Francisco as well.

Notes for: The Zombie Syndrome

A Documentary

By Gary Opkast

Episode: Zombie Zero

Film clip of a zombie clawing its way out of a grave (NOTE: Check YouTube; InsaneCandid is supposed to have a good one, and his family may sell the rights to pay for his funeral expenses.)

NARRATOR: The world has been living under the zombie threat for over two decades, yet where did this threat originate?  Did it begin with a single human, or a simultaneous uprising?  Did the zombie syndrome migrate to other countries, or did it spring simultaneously, as it were, from the grave?  The answers to these questions could give scientists a much-needed break in isolating and resolving the cause of zombie-ism.  So the search continues for that elusive first case--the one scientists call "Zombie Zero."

Cut to DR.  BEN HANSEN (CORRIANDER SPICE) (Need background visuals--something non-zombie-ish but interesting enough to detract from digitized face effect): "The problem we're coming up against is in the reporting.  Sure, now, you call 9-1-1 and tell them there's a zombie on your lawn, and the Z-mat team comes right away, but who would have believed this twenty-three years ago?"

Cut to re-enactment of 9-1-1 call.  Note on bottom: 9-1-1 call, Pleasantville, KY, Oct 31, 2019, 11:35 p.m.

"9-1-1, how may I help you?"

"Please!  Help me!  There's a, a zombie and it's--"

"Where are you?"

"I'm in a barn off Countryside Lane!  My boyfriend and I were on a drive and we ran out of gas and now--"

"'Ran out of gas'?"

"Shut up, okay?  There's a zombie and it broke the window and pulled Billy out of the back seat and--"

"Miss, have you been drinking?"

"Shut up and help me!  I'm in the barn and it's coming after me and I think Billy is too!"

"Miss, could it be they're just playing a joke?"

Screams.

Cut to clips of the barn, the bodies with sheets over them, one hand, obviously zombified, peeking out.

NARRATOR: "It was no joke.  Barbie Munchausen, 17, and her boyfriend, Billy Stakes, were discovered by police officers lurching hand-in-hand down Countryside Lane.  When they attacked Policeman Lance McRue, his partner, Dougie Marsh, a longtime fan of zombie films, decapitated them with an ax.  Even so, officials were slow to believe the zombie story until McRue himself re-animated an hour later.  This was the first confirmed case of zombie-ism in the United States, but was it the first?"

HANSEN: "Not a chance.  We have found veiled references to the undead back to the mid 2010s.  Before that, we had some vampire sightings, but we're pretty sure that was part of the Twilight craze.  Vampires!  Come on--who's going to believe that old tale?"

Purchase links:

Neeta Lyffe, Zombie Exterminator :  http://amzn.to/hTqMGa

I Left My Brains in San Francisco: http://amzn.to/Nzm01L

Learn more about the Zombie Exterminator novels at http://zombiedeathextreme.com

Find out about all of Karina Fabian’s books at http://fabianspace.com

Post-Zombie Recovery? What do recovered zombies really think?

Are zombies, pardon the pun, dying out?

Hopefully not, though new approaches are coming out.

Now this is intriguing, Zombie News reported that a new BBC TV series, "In the Flesh" is coming out  about those who are now "cured" and have recovered from what they are calling Partially Deceased Syndrome. Interesting footnote is the person coming back to their hometown, facing survivors and dealing with the guilt from their behavior - eating people. (Yikes! That's a horrid memory or flashback to have!)

Now, being cured of zombieism or maybe living with it in a different form  is not new.
In my upcoming zombie book, GIRL Z: My Life as a Teenage Zombie, the main character Becca is one of many who become infected but only turn into a part-zombie. She is not cannabalistic and modern medicine is working on a cure.

Author Angela Scott also had her protagonist in Wanted: Dead or Undead survive zombieism.

This new TV series puts a slightly different twist on zombies, though, helping you see more through their eyes as they "recover." While other books like Zombie, Ohio have touched somewhat on what someone turning zombie is going through via their point-of-view, it'll be interesting to fully experience a "recovered zombie's" thoughts... or will it simply be gross?

** What do you think? Would you want to get in their head or thoughts?

Here's the trailer:

Zombie Mud Run Coming to Wisconsin

Just found this and I am intrigued. No, not to run - I wouldn't get very far - but I am thinking of signing up as a volunteer to see what it's all about.

The Wisconsin Zombie Mud Run is a 5k race through obstacles - and past zombies. I've heard of these elsewhere and I bet it is hysterical!

The event begins at 7:15 a.m. to 6:15 p.m. and will be held at the Wisconsin Fairgrounds, Waukesha Expo in Waukesha, Wisc.

** Anyone do one of these or participate? Share your experiences! 

Zombie Works in Progress

Last Friday, I shared with you my middle grade, nonzombie story and mentioned that I have two zombie books in the works.  I'm sure you are all curious to know more about them, so here are the details I have.  Remember, these are pretty rough drafts, so things will probably change once I start writing them.

The first novel I'm going to work on is based on my short story that appears in the following book:

You can purchase it here.  The story is called "Live, and Let them be Undead."  I'm going to take the basic premise and expand it into a novel.  There will be intrigue, mystery, suspense, and, of course, zombies.  But these won't be your normal, run-of-the-mill shamblers.  They will be genetically altered.  It's going to be exciting!

The second novel that I have planned is an expansion of a novella I started a while ago.  I got stuck on the story, so I put it away for a while.  It's turning out to be a lot longer than I expected.  I think I have a new direction for the story to go, so I'm going to see if I can make it flow better.  Keep your fingers crossed for me!  This one will be more of a traditional zombie tale.

I have the groundwork laid for these books, now I just need the time.  I'm finishing up some other novels, then I'll get started on these two.  My projected timeline is to have at least one of them done by the end of the year.  Maybe both.  Depends on my motivation.  I will keep you informed of my progress!