Wednesday, July 9, 2014

Zombie Stories with Humor (and a Cat) by Rhonda Parrish

Today we welcome Canadian author Rhonda Parrish who thinks zombies should be, well, funny. And since I happen to like gore (and short stories) with a few laughs, the collection sounded like a great idea. (Especially the OZ story idea!) 


Rhonda's collection of three short stories, Waste Not: And Other Funny Zombie Stories, offers readers a chance get three of her favorite stories in one purchase.

About Waste Not And Other Funny Zombie Stories: (34 pages)

The collections includes:

Waste Not - The coming of zombies forces humankind back to the land, to a simple lifestyle where ‘Waste Not, Want Not’ becomes more than a motto, it becomes the key to survival. And revenge.

Feeders - The zombie apocalypse will affect more than just humans, explore the repercussions of walking dead through the eyes of a cat in this story guaranteed to make you smile.

...Oh My! - What if the Wicked Witch of the West wasn’t killed by Dorothy’s house? What if she couldn’t be, because she was a zombie. Dun dun dun! 

 ** For the animal lovers here's an excerpt from FEEDERS - what happens when the zombies come,  from a cat's point-of-view. (And thank goodness she says it's sure to make you smile)


The last time I saw my former feeder he was rushing out the door to work. I thought it odd when he didn't come home that night, but truthfully, I welcomed his absence. It meant I didn't have to endure his incessant ruffling of my fur, or the condescending high-pitched voice he reserved exclusively for talking to me. Plus, I got to stretch out and take up all the bed I wanted.

The next morning I was woken by the sound of a loud explosion. It hurt my ears and rattled the house's windows. After a nice, long stretch, I had a bite to eat and climbed into the west-facing window upstairs. Smoke filled the air and irritated my nose. It must have been even worse on the other side of the glass.

 Over the next few days smoke came and went, some clouds more offensive than others. Mostly I stayed in my window, enjoying the sun on my fur and the interesting view below. Ghouls chased the feeders through the streets. They came in waves, like the fires. One group of ghouls and feeders would pass through with much screaming, banging and excitement, and then, sometimes for hours at a time, the world would be silent. Eerily silent. Even those insufferably chirpy birds had nothing to say. Then, eventually, inevitably, another wave of predator and prey would pass by, giving me something to watch and leaving carnage in their wake.

It was a good life.

 Then my water dish ran dry.

That was my first hint something had gone wrong.





Monday, July 7, 2014

Two New Zombie Books to Read

While there are tons of new and recently released zombie books every week (and I'll be listing some I found recently on the blog here), I thought I'd mention a couple new releases since I read previous books in both series:

  Diana Rowland's fourth and latest in her series, How the White Trash Zombie Got Her Groove Back, has zombie Angela tracking down some missing zombies, and eventually targeting the Saberton Corporation as being behind it. But the way to the solution is paved with zombie drugs, undead trafficking, and danger...

It's been fun seeing Angela turn her former drug-addicted life around  - even if she had to do it by dying and turning zombie. She survives by taking brains at her medical examiner office job, and has been trying to help others, and other zombies, as each book progresses. (I'm behind on the series and have to read book three yet.)


 Author Scott Kenemore follows his successful Zombie, Ohio: A Tale of the Undead and Zombie, Illinois: A Novel with Zombie, Indiana: A Novel. As in the first two novels, it's politics and zombies colliding (even if some may think there is no difference. ha!) This time the Hoosiers are fighting the undead as the governor tries to find his missing daughter, save the state, and thwart a zombie horde.

Having grown up in Chicago, the second book in the series was naturally my favorite and  fun to read since it used familiar landmarks and had  a fitting scene - an undead Capone attacking and eating the mayor. We'll see what happens in Indiana this time.














Saturday, July 5, 2014

Enter the Gates of ...





Just had to share this. It's not every day you see something this unique and well, garish. Enter the Gates of Hell. The Le Cabare de L'Enfer, a turn-of-the-century nightclub in Paris, a place you normally wouldn't want to go to. Take a look at the amazing interior pictured at Rue Morgue...

Friday, July 4, 2014

Happy 4th of July!

I hope you all have a wonderful and exciting, wonderful, and safe 4th of July.  When I think of fireworks, I can't help but think of Land of the Dead and how the zombies can be distracted by "sky flowers."  

May you find them as fantastic as they do.


Thursday, July 3, 2014

Contagious Reads Horror Con Coming!



The Contagious Reads Horror Con begins Monday!  Be sure to check the Facebook event page for great giveaways, Q&A's, and surprises!

Author Q & A's begin Sunday, July 13 to Weds., July 16
Panels begin Thursday, July 17 to Friday, July 18. 

Contagious Reads Horror Con Q&A schedule:
Sunday, July 13th
10-10:30 am Annie Walls
1-1:30 pm Jessica Meigs
6-6:30 pm Rhiannon Frater

Monday, July 14th
11-12 pm Emily Goodwin
2-3 pm Rachel Aukes
5-6 pm Sarah Lyons Fleming
7-8 pm Melanie Karsak -  ** C. A. (Christine) Verstraete

Tuesday, July 15th
10-11 am Peggy Martinez
1-2 pm   Alexia Purdy
4-4:30 pm Pauline Creeden
8-8:30 pm Claire C. Riley

Wednesday, July 16th
11-12 pm Michelle Kilmer
1-1:30 pm T.A. Brock
5-6 pm Tonia Brown
7-8 pm Erin Hayes

Thursday July 17th
Women in Horror: No, I don't write Urban Fantasy (Thursday July, 17th Morning Session) 1 hour
11- 12 am
Rhiannon Frater
Dawn Peers
Jessica Meigs
Emily Goodwin
Melanie Karsak
Rachel Aukes
  Break for some contests.
All things must die! Killing Characters: 1 hour
2pm - 3pm
Dawn Peers
Sarah Fleming
Jessica Meigs
Annie Walls
  Break for more contests.
Romance in Horror: Is this chick lit now? 2 Hours
5 pm - 7pm
Rhiannon Frater
Sarah Fleming
Jessica Meigs 5-6 pm
Emily Goodwin
Annie Walls
---------------------- Hour 2 Authors
TA Brock
Tonia Brown 6-7 pm
C.A. Verstraete
Margo Bond Collins
8-9 pm Contests
Friday July, 18th
All Things Must Die (Day 2) 1 hour
11-12 am
Claire C. Riley
Melanie Karsak
Emily Goodwin
Tonia Brown
Rhiannon Frater
Margo Bond Collins
Break for Contests!
Zombies and Beyond: The struggle to not be pigeonholed into one sub-genre 2 hrs
2pm - 3pm
Melanie Karsak
Peggy Martinez
Alexia Purdy
Michelle Kilmer
C.A. Verstraete
Claire C. Riley

3-4 pm
Rhiannon Frater
TA Brock
Rachel Aukes
Margo Bond Collins
Break For Contests
Breaking Out! Being a versatile writer who works in various genres. without losing too many fans. 1 hr
5-7 pm
Dawn Peers
Emily Goodwin
Peggy Martinez
Pauline Creeden
Erin Hayes
7pm The Awards!
8-10 FUN!


Wednesday, July 2, 2014

Zombies and a favorite childhood friend

  The lovable, cuddly Teddy Bear has been a childhood favorite since the first toy bear was manufactured and named after President Theodore Roosevelt in the early 1900s. While avid-hunter Roosevelt was lauded for not killing a tied-up bear considering that "unsportsmanlike," the bear that was hunted down seemed to have been inhumanely treated and abused in order to be caught (although the story background changes depending on what source you read.)

The story of Roosevelt's refusal to kill the bear spread to the media. Soon, toy maker Morris Michtom, who went on to found the Ideal Toy Company, was one of those who got the idea to create a stuffed bear in Teddy's honor. Getting permission to use Roosevelt's name, he began making the  "Teddy Bear." The famous Steiff bears also launched during the same time period and became hugely popular in the US after being introduced at the Leipzig toy fair.

Fast forward to today. The Teddy Bear has seen better days, especially in the face of a zombie plague. Somewhere, the cute, sweet bears were infected, resulting in Undead Teds. UK creator Phillip Blackman turned the lovable toy you love to snuggle up with into something, well...  that you'd rather lock in a room by itself.

(Photos: new releases, UndeadTeds on Tumblr)


undead ted, zombie teddy bear


Imagine having this looking at you all night long... while you sleep....

I feel sorry for this poor guy below, though.... He looks so sad.

undead ted, zombie teddy bear 2

I have to admire the creativity and idea behind these, which apparently are flying off the shelves. But... it makes the thing under the bed or hiding in the closet look a lot less frightening now, doesn't it?

 See more on the Undead Teds Tunblr page... if you dare.

Tuesday, July 1, 2014

Beyond Blue Police Procedural Kickstarter

For  something different.... Intrigue Publishing has a Kickstarter going to launch its latest, an intriguing police procedural, Beyond Blue by Austin Camacho. 


   
BEYOND BLUE is about a privately funded detective  that helps police in trouble. The agency was started by a wealthy Middle Eastern businessman whose son worked in the World Trade Center. On September 11, 2001 one of New York’s finest gave his life saving the son.


The novel follows four of the agency’s cases, which overlap and intersect: An undercover officer is in danger of really being drawn into a life of crime, a crooked lawyer is destroying police careers by making arresting officers appear to have violated criminals’ rights, a cop’s wife accuses him of abusing their daughter, and a retired police detective who is now in charge of airport security could lose his job because of drugs being smuggled in through JFK International. Pursuing these cases is a team of unique and intriguing detectives.
Bid on Kickstarter to get ebooks, signed paperbacks and more.  Bid for next stretch goals!
Read an excerpt here.