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I am a very lucky person. I know, those of you aware of the hell I have been through this year (Here's a LINK to the blog post I made about it) are probably scratching your heads about now, but the reality is --as difficult as things have been-- I have had good friends and family there to help me through the rough spots. With your support I've forged my way through the worst year of my life. You've helped me to get back up, brushed me off, given me band-aids for my various metaphoric skinned knees, and kept me going down the right path. I couldn't have gotten through this year without you folks and I honestly just want to say thank you. There have been so many amazing people in my life this year helping me and I feel so lucky for it. Because of that, I wanted to take a moment and just let you all know how grateful I am for everything. Thanks for listening to and, of course, for helping me. You all rock.

I am excited, honored, and very proud to host Part One of a short story written by the ever awesome Mark Tufo for the Winter of Zombie 2014 blog tour . Without further ado, Ladies and Gentlemen, I give to you the Czar of Zombies, Mark Tufo. Through My Baby’s Eyes Mark Tufo Part One My name is Mercury Jones. One would guess that I was a professional athlete and I had given myself a flashy nickname. That wasn’t the case. Nor was I slippery in any way. My name was given to me by my asinine father, who stayed around just long enough to saddle me with that moniker. The ink wasn’t dry on the birth certificate before he bolted for parts unknown. Now the question you may have is why. Why did he name me this? Because his friends which were marginally less stupid than him bet 27 dollars and three lines of coke that he wouldn’t take a drink from a thermometer. He did. The comedy of errors didn’t stop there, he drank, snorted, got up and meandered to his then girlfriend...

Hey folks. I hope things have been well with you. Today I had the honor of interviewing the talented Christine Verstraete. Her character Becca and my bud Bob also had a bit of an interview. I enjoyed it, Bob had a blast too. Without further ado, I turn things over to Christine. Thanks to Bob (and Jaime) for letting me and Becca come to visit your site. Please be sure to stop by my GirlZombieAuthors blog during Coffin Hop (Oct. 24-31) and enter my giveaway! Click the Coffin Hop logo on my blog for the contest and Coffin Hop details. About the book: Becca Herrera Hayes is the 16-year-old protagonist from GIRL Z: My Life as a Teenage Zombie . She finds her life changed when her cousin comes home, and via an accidental scratch, turns her into a part-zombie. Now she has to cope with a weird diet and changes no teenager wants to go through. As she struggles to cope with her new life, she’s searching for her lost mother with her other cousin/BFF Carm while hoping she’ll find ...

Those of you who know me know what a horrible, awful, shittacular year I have had. For those who don't I'm going to fill you in really quickly before I get to the meat of this post. In January I was attacked by my St Bernard who had a PTSD snap on me from some abuse he had suffered as a puppy. He was two years old when we got him and never really showed any aggression at all. (Here's a link to a blogpost I wrote about it. I recommend it for anyone with children who are getting an animal from the pound.) Because of the nature of the attack and the fact it might happen at any time without any warning signs he had to either be put down or live a hands off life --which he would have hated. This year --mind, it's only October-- has also wrought me dealings with a less than stellar publisher, a less than professional artist employed by said publisher who plastered pictures of my minor children everywhere because that's obviously what you do when someone sends ...

While she hasn't taken over the world --yet-- she, and her creator Leigh M Lane, are taking over my blog for the day. But, this sort of thing isn't uncommon, as we authors know, sometimes a character can take over everything --especially our imaginations-- until we tell their story. For more on that I give you the indomitable, the amazing, the extremely talented Leigh M. Lane. When the Protagonist Takes Over Click me to buy! I don’t know how many times I’ve outlined a story only to find various plot points reconstructing themselves as I go to flesh them out. The same can go for characters: who they are, what roles they play, what type of feel they offer to their stories’ overall tones, etc. Jaime and I were talking just the other day about characters that take over—particularly how Jaime’s Bob the Zombie had begun as a supporting character in another book and how Jane the Hippie Vampire was originally supposed to be a lighthearted reprieve from all the dark an...

Without much ado I'd like to introduce Leigh M. Lane and her vampiric bohemian badass, Jane. Thanks to the both of them for visiting for the day. Enjoy!   It’s the Simple Things That Count Have you ever had one of those days when it seems like there’s something to knock you down at every turn? If you subscribe to Jane’s philosophy, the good and the bad eventually balance out, but there’s always a rose to stop and smell even during the worst of times. While I’m no pessimist, I do sometimes let a bad day stop me in my tracks, so I thought I might do a brief interview with Jane to see how she’s able to keep her chin up amid so much adversity. LL: Why don’t you start by telling your readers a little about you? Jane: Well, I was born in 1950 and, until my mother died, had an ideal childhood. I learned at an early age that life is what you make of it—and I really do believe it is. LL: Even for a person who is undead? Jane: Especially for the undead. I’ve come ...

In 2012 we were looking to adopt a dog. We went to a local shelter to see a mastiff puppy and when we got there we soon realized the puppy wasn't for us. She was very aggressive and my eldest son felt uncomfortable with her. Instead of just leaving we decided to look at some of the other dogs. That's when we found Mr B. He was beautiful, and sad, he barely even looked up at us when we stood in front of his cage. You could see he'd had his heart broken and I felt for the big guy. I told him not to give up --that things would get better-- then we left. On the way home my husband and I looked at each other and I asked if we could go see Mr B the next day. He agreed. There was another couple that applied to adopt the Saint Bernard and we decided that visiting him daily could only help sway the decision our way. Not to mention the more we visited the happier the dog seemed to be. On the sixth day of our visiting they told us we could take him home the following day...

 Today I am honored to have the remarkably talented and super wonderful Carole Gill guest blogging for me. I read this and whooped in agreement. Carole, thank you so much. You rock! Women in Horror By: Carole Gill I’ve been thinking. Why is there a Women in Horror Month or better still, why is there the need to have a Women in Horror Month? Could it be because women are not taken seriously as horror writers? Let’s be straight forward about it. I think much of it has to do with paranormal romance fiction. Paranormal romance is its own genre. It’s not horror and never will be. I don’t write paranormal romance and never have. The horror I write is horror.  I have written about blood-drinking, demonic vampires, flesh eaters some of them; I have written about necromantic doctors, flesh-eating dolls, demonic, cannibal clowns, murderous midgets, zombies on their own undead, bloody death march and wendigos (also flesh eaters). I have in all four novels in The Blackstone V...

Today James Glass and Sekhmet Press is releasing the second book in the Murdered Metatron series 'The Dispossessed'. I, for one, can not wait to read it. To celebrate the release of this book I yanked Mr. Glass under the grill light and asked him the things I wanted to know. When I was assured he had no clue about why the casques on a hornbill's head can hurt so damned much when they slam it into you, I instead asked Glass questions about being an author. Enjoy! (As always clicking on the picture will take you to the Amazon store for that particular book.)  JJ: When did you start writing? JG: Too long ago to remember. JJ: What was the first story you remember writing? JG: There were several erotic pieces, if I recall. Specifically Absinthe and Absolution. It’s not a story for the weak of heart. JJ: What genre is your most preferred? JG: Genre preference is largely dependent upon my mood in that moment. Some days I am unrepentant in my love of eros, the next ins...

I'd like to thank Lori for whipping up this guestpost for my blog. She is a very talented author and a wonderful human being. I now turn my blog over to her for the day. Let’s Dance Lori R. Lopez ​I don’t know about you, but I could never be a surgeon. I would upchuck on the poor patient. Right before fainting. Heck, I’m too nervous to drive, imagining all of the lives I might take out. Oh, once upon a time I passed the driving test in a surge of competence. They mailed me a card with my picture and name on it and said I could legally operate a motor vehicle. Cue the JAWS Theme. Were they out of their minds? They must have been. I am the last person you want behind the wheel, unless it’s a go-cart. Make that a golf cart. Okay, maybe not the last person. I guess there are worse candidates. Not many. My mind tends to wander. I am too nervous and tense — I have been most of my life, just ask my dentist. And I am not mechanical. Nor am I one of those “capable” people. ...

February is Women in Horror month and I couldn't be happier. Well, that's a lie. I could be happier. How? I'd be happier if there was no need for a month devoted to women in this genre. I'd be much happier to be thought of as a horror author and not a female horror author. I don't understand why there is a gender gap in this genre, I just know there is one. I am not sure if it's because we are seen as physically weaker than men so therefore we must not be able to handle horror as well. The truth is the majority of violent crimes that happen in this country happen to women. Most of the female horror authors I know have been through those hells. Who better to depict a woman in horrifying situation than a woman? Even if we don't speak about rape or physical abuse. Let's talk about the women who have led normal lives and have children. How many men can say they knows what it feels like to have something growing and moving inside of you? Yet more reader...

Today the polite wordsmith Steven Donahue is put under the grill light. Enjoy! JJ: When did you start writing? SD: In high school I started writing a book about an NFL quarterback who was ambidextrous. I thought that ability would give a quarterback an edge. However, the story never fully came together. JJ: What was the first story you remember writing? SD: In seventh grade, I wrote a short story about a hero battling an evil warlord. I based the villain on my Social Studies teacher and handed it in as an assignment. The teacher wasn’t amused. JJ: What genre is your most preferred? SD: Science fiction. JJ: What challenges you the most in your writing? SD: Finding the time and the quiet place to write. JJ: What is your favorite thing about being an author? SD: The immense satisfaction I feel when I finish writing a new book. JJ: What do you like least about being an author? SD: The intense marketing efforts required by today’s writers. Unless...