Eat Your Heart Out Author Extravaganza: Meet Some Amazing Authors

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Welcome to The Eat Your Heart Out event!

Whether you like classic horror, zombies or short stories, there is a great variety of novels to choose from this Valentine’s Day. You can check out the full list below:

• Aftermath (Invasion of the Dead. Book #1) by Owen Baillie
• Ghost Hold by Ripley Patton
• The Last Venture Capitalist by Dan Eagles
• The Untold Tales Omnibus: Zombie Stories From the As The World Dies Universe by Rhiannon Frater
• Pulse by Eloise J. Knapp (RELEASE DATE: February 14th)
• The Retreat #1: Pandemic by Craig DiLouie, Stephen Knight and Joe McKinney
• Until the End of the World by Sarah Lyons Fleming
• Fish to Die For (666 Fish) by Keith Milstead
• I Zombie I by Jack Wallen
• Zombie Battle: Complete by Jacqueline Druga
• Designated Infected by Ricky Cooper
• Game of Straws by SB Knight
• Z Burbia by Jake Bible
• The Under-Circus and Other Tales by A. Carina Barry& Robert W. Barry (RELEASE DATE: February 14th)
• Stamps, Vamps and Tramps by Katie Cord (RELEASE DATE: February 14th)
• 100 Days in Deadland (Deadland Saga) by Rachel Aukes
• Emeline and the Mutants by Rachel Tsoumbakos
• Origins (Game of Straws) by SB Knight
• Forget the Alamo by R.J. Spears
• Odium (The Dead Saga) by Claire C Riley
• Forever, in Pieces by Kurt Fawver
• Devouring Milo by Tonia Brown
• When the Dead by Michelle Kilmer
• The Spread by Michelle Kilmer and Rebecca Hansen
• Villipede Publications Double Feature: The Black Ziggurat by Damir Salkovic and Cyborg Pajamas by Rob Oxley (RELEASE DATE: February 14th)
• Dead Trees by Eli Constant
• The Shores of the Dead Book One: The Rising by Josh Hilden
• At the Behest of the Dead by Timothy W. Long

The event was put together to bring you, the reader, some great books at great prices for one day only. Over on the event page, there are more interviews, giveaways, competitions, and tons more going on. What better way to spend V-Day than curled up with your loved one and meeting some fantastic horror writers!

Make sure you hold out until February 14 to purchase these books because for Valentine’s Day they will all be reduced to only 99 cents each!

https://www.facebook.com/#!/events/1492330050991663/?fref=ts

Now lets meet a few of these amazing authors, Starting with the very cool Sarah.

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Sarah Lyons Fleming

Getting to know you & your book.

Name, contact and purchase links.

Sarah Lyons Fleming

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DX73ZPY

http://www.SarahLyonsFleming.com

SarahLyonsFleming@gmail.com    

http://www.facebook.com/SarahLyonsFleming



Tell us the name of the book you have in the Eat your Heart out event and a little bit about it.

Until the End of the World

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Here’s my short blurb:

Cassie has lived to regret her broken promise that she’d love Adrian until the end of the world and after. And now that the end of the world has arrived, she must live long enough to make it right. Zombies never die, but what about true love?

It’s a story of true love, friendship, survival, redemption, and humor in the face of the end of the world. Oh, and beer.

Tell us something unusual about it.

Hmm, unusual, huh? I guess that I wrote it as post-apocalyptic zombie chick-lit, but I’ve gotten a lot of great reviews from men. I’ve been pleasantly surprised by that.

Who’s your favourite character? And do you have a worst?

Nelly is my favorite, hands down. But I love them all; I grew to love the ones I hated. The ones I didn’t, I got to kill.

What work do you have coming up in the future?

The second book of the Until the End of the World series, AND AFTER, will be out in the spring. I have a novella about one of the characters which will be out shortly. But it’s a “side”-quel and contains major spoilers, so should only be read after the book.

Zombies, books & other things.

What are some zombie books or authors that you would recommend to others and why?

I haven’t read a ton of zombie books--weird, I know. I have a ton on my To Be Read list that I haven’t gotten to yet, but I can recommend a couple that I’ve read that are a bit more character-driven than most:

100 DAYS IN DEADLAND--Rachel Aukes. Rachel gives us real characters who are unsure, conflicted and trying their best to survive a nightmare.

UNTIL THE END and the sequel, AFTER THE END- Tracey Ward. (New Adult) The two main characters are funny and real.

Do you have a Z’ Plan in place? You know if the apocalypse started a plan on what you are going to do and where you will hide out, and if so will you share it with us?

I’ve got a good list of lesser-known stores to loot, if that’s what you mean. Kidding! Sort of. I’ll only loot when most everyone’s dead. Until then, I’ll hunker down with my stored food and weapons. You don’t want to try to come after my supplies--I’m a very good shot. Kidding!

Actually, no, I’m not. :)

What makes you want to write about zombies?

I love (and hate) the way they don’t stop. They’re mindless, but they’re also single-minded. They can ruin any moment of any day, and there’s no rhyme or reason to it. It’s so terrifying, yet fascinating.

How do you like your zombies?

Slow and shambling

or

Fast and clever?

Slow and shambling for me. That’s not to say that I don’t like fast ones, I just don’t write them, maybe because I think all the characters would be dead in ten minutes.

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Chapter 1 Excerpt: UNTIL THE END OF THE WORLD

Today is the kind of spring day that used to make me feel like anything was possible. That it would all work out in the end. I used to love days like this. Of course, that was before I started avoiding spring altogether.

It isn’t easy to avoid an entire season, especially one this glorious. But for the past three years I’ve managed it. I close the blinds, stay out of the sunshine and keep to myself, so as not to dredge up memories of that first terrible spring.

But this year feels different. I can’t help but enjoy the breeze that promises summer is coming. It’s the kind of day that puts a spring in your step, where you believe hope does spring eternal.

I dreamt about Adrian last night. But it wasn’t the usual dream, the one that wakes me up in tears with that empty feeling in the pit of my stomach. We were sitting on the porch steps of my parents’ cabin. Our legs were stretched out, feet resting on the ground. I was wiggling my toes. There was nothing else. Sure, the bees buzzed among the flowers and the trees whispered in the wind, but that was it. There was just quiet. And peace, the kind of peace that didn’t seem to follow Adrian as much as it was a product of him. When I woke up that feeling stayed with me, and I started thinking that maybe it could be mine again.

My friend Penny’s dark ponytail swings as we pass the brownstones and apartment buildings of our Brooklyn neighborhood on our way to work. I haven’t told her about this feeling, even though I tell her almost everything. I’m like a squirrel with a nut, wanting to hide it away for safekeeping, to turn it over and over and examine it.

Penny glances at my feet. “You wore your new shoes.”

I nod. It’s still too cool, but I wore the delicate straw sandals anyway. I thought they might make me feel feminine and strong. That maybe they would help me to embrace and welcome spring again. Relying on shoes to do all that is pretty dumb, but I need all the help I can get.

Penny raises her face to the sun and sighs with pleasure. She moved here from Puerto Rico when she was ten, after her father died. Even after all these years she still takes winter as a personal affront.

“My mom was called in last night, something to do with the LX virus,” Penny says, and pushes her vintage glasses back up where they belong. “She says there are a lot of cases in New York now.”

Bornavirus LX has spread across the world in the past few days. So far it’s only been found in the Midwest and West. I haven’t been paying much attention because in the spring I never do.

“Did she say how many?”

“No. But she’s pretty certain the quarantine of St. Louis means it’s going to get bad.”

“They quarantined St. Louis?” I’m shocked that it’s come to that.

“Yeah, late last night. Chicago, too. And air traffic is suspended from the West.” We stop at the front door of the Sunset Park Community Center, where we both work. “How do you not know all this? You’re usually the one telling me these things.”

“I’ve been distracted. I didn’t listen to the news this morning.”

I want to tell her more, but I’m not sure what there is to tell. It’s just a mental shift or something, and if it comes to nothing I don’t want to advertise the fact that I’ve failed. Penny glances around and twists her lips.

“James kissed me last night,” she says to the concrete.

“James what?” I yell. She shushes me and I lower my voice. “We just walked all the way to work and you tell me now? At—” I look at the time on my phone, “crap. There’s a meeting. I have to go.”

Penny smiles. She did this on purpose so I wouldn’t bother her about it the whole way to work.

“I knew it!” I say, and narrow my eyes even though I’m grinning. “We’re twenty-eight years old and you still won’t tell me when you like someone! Nelly and I have been waiting for this. You’re gonna tell me later, you know.”

“Gotta go,” she sings out, as I head upstairs.

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Josh Hilden

Getting to know you & your book.

Name, stalker links and purchase links.
 
Josh Hilden

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/josh-hilden-author/116260821801432

Twitter: http://twitter.com/josh_hilden

Website: www.joshhilden.com

Blog: http://joshhilden.com/universal-josh/

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Josh-Hilden/e/B0094ACFPA/



Tell us the name of the book you have in the Eat your Heart out event and a little bit about it.

“The Shores of the Dead Book 1: The Rising”

The first book of a three book Zombie Apocalypse Series (with a short story anthology thrown in for fun).

Tell us something unusual or interesting about it.

The series has a slight supernatural bent to it. The cause is mystical in nature and there are bits and pieces within the series with mystic overtones. That being said I tried very hard to keep the “Magic” elements small and used more for enhancement as opposed to being the central thrust.

Who’s your favourite character? And do you have a worst?

Benny Millette is my favorite character. He’s not the big hero or the heart throb, he’s a genuinely good human being trying to protect his friends and family in a world gone mad.

Arn Jacobson is my worst … if I told you why it might spoil things.

What work do you have coming up in the future?

I am always working.

At the moment I am working on a novel called “Frankenstein, King of the Dead” which I hope to have available for purchase at Gen Con 2014 in Indianapolis.

Zombies, books & other things.

What are some zombie books or authors that you would recommend to others and why?

In my opinion Rhiannon Frater, Tim Long, and Eloise Knapp are the best Zombie authors working today. Not only do they write excellent horror but all three of them are masters of character creation. They’ve created characters that will always be with me (Cyrus, Kate, and Katie/Jenni).

Do you have a Z’ Plan in place? You know if the apocalypse started a plan on what you are going to do and where you will hide out, and if so will you share it with us?

My plan is to “Bug In” I’ve made plans to fortify my home and hold out until the temperature drops and the dead freeze, then me and my family HUNT!

What makes you want to write about zombies?

No fictional subject has ever scared me more than zombies. The terror turned into fascination which in turn fed the fear.

How do you like your zombies?

Slow and shambling

or

Fast and clever

Slow and shambling but that’s not to say fast isn’t terrifying. I think the Walking Dead (TV Show) has struck a good balance when it comes to zombie speed and mental acuity. 

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The Shores Of The Dead Excerpt : Chapter Eight

Chapter Eight

 Toys “R” US

Miamisburg, Ohio (South of Dayton)

October 19, 2012 AD (Day Two)

2:35am EST

            Bam … bam … bam!

The sound had been repeating itself for four hours and Kyle was sure that he was on the verge of madness. He was thankful that the pounding was coming from the far end of the room outside of his makeshift prison. Not the restroom door itself. Beside him on the cold floor, Benny breathed raggedly in and out. The swelling on the side of his head was sickeningly purple.


Kyle looked up from the corner he was sitting in and glanced at the laptop resting on the cracked and dingy pink tile floor off to his right. The mail icon was still reading zero and his instant messenger window was devoid of friends. It’d been almost two hours since he’d heard from anyone else online, and that person had been that asshat Martin. Martin was an old high school friend that Kyle and Benny had lost touch with more and more since graduation. He raved that they were pounding on the front and back doors of his house, and he wasn’t sure how long the doors would hold. He told Kyle he would brb, Be Right Back in computer speak. But he never returned.


He’d never liked Martin as much as Benny did, with his repository of endless blond jokes and the three day old smell of Cheetos and root beer that never seemed to leave him. Kyle hoped that they hadn’t got him, but they probably had.


He reached over and picked up the plastic Coca Cola bottle now filled with water from the restroom sink. He liked that the Coca Cola Company had gone back to the simple red and white label. He thought the metallic bubbles and lines looked like complete shit ever since they appeared on the bottles. He held the bottle to Benny’s lips and tilted it up carefully.


 “Benny, man, you need to wake up, please.” He said as he attempted to hydrate his friend. He jumped a second later.

            Bam … bam … bam!


He wanted to scream at Jackie. Scream that she needed to drag her fat ass over to the other side of the room where the emergency exit door was located, and push on the fucking bar on the door in order for it to open. But the last time he’d succumbed to that impulse she’d slouched her way back to the restrooms moaning and clawing at the walls and doors for over half an hour before she had returned to pounding on the door to the sales floor. The door you needed to pull not push open, of course since he’d locked it after Mel fled that didn’t matter. The moaning and the sound of her fingers scraping on steel and cinder block were worse than the constant banging in its own charming way. The irony was that Kyle found her less irritating and clingy than during the six months that they had dated.


When he admitted to himself that Benny still wasn’t going to drink he tipped back the tepid bottle of tap water himself. Drinking more out of reflex than any real thirst. The water stopped having that faint cola taste after three refills. The problem wasn’t water, the problem was food, and Kyle Jefferson Carson was soon going to be one hungry boy.


Having skipped breakfast following the results of his night’s binge drinking, he figured it’d been almost 30 hours since he’d had anything substantial to eat. He finished the Snickers bar in his backpack in the first hour and there had been nothing to eat since. The really maddening part was the knowledge that right outside the steel door was the Toys “R” Us break-room and the myriad of vending machines and the refrigerator with all of its plastic containers and bags of food. Sure it was food that belonged to other people, but Kyle figured that those poor bastards were either dead or never coming back. And hadn’t he heard Carlos say that he had a slab of lasagne for lunch? It wasn’t like he was going to miss it. The thought made him snort like a five year old. Then his stomach cramped with hunger and the potential humour of his thought bled away. Jackie was still out there, possibly guarding the lasagne because she knew that Kyle was craving it worse than anything he’d ever desired in his life.


Why the fuck hadn’t he eaten before he came to work?

The hell of it was that he was still not sure he would be able to handle her if he grew some balls and went for it. He’d barely been able to handle her when she’d been alive. Like the night that he told her that he was breaking up with her and she started crying. Kyle tried to comfort her but that was a huge mistake. As soon as he put his arm on her shoulder, she whirled around and started screaming at him. He was an asshole, he was a moron, he was a skinny fucking four eyed kid, his dick was small, he was a lousy fuck, and the kicker … she only let him touch her because she felt sorry for him.

Every one of her shrill declarations was punctuated with a jab of her sausage like finger into his sternum. Those jabs were painful and they forced Kyle against the nearest wall. Like every other confrontation he’d had in his life, Kyle just stood there and took it for almost an hour before he’d been able to escape.

“Fuck,” he said as he hoisted himself up to refill the bottle. He looked in the mirror and was dismayed to see how much he’d deteriorated since this nightmare had started. His eyes were heavily shadowed and his sockets looked hollowed out. He also smelled pretty ripe but perhaps he could be forgiven for that.

He pointedly did not look at the drying spot on the front of his pants.

The swelling on his face where he’d been thrown into the wall when Carlos used him as a human shield was beginning to recede. But the bruise was an ugly purple and yellow thing and he was convinced that the cheek bone was busted in at least three spots.

He wanted to cry, but he refused to give into that emotion.

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Eli Constant

Author Bio:

Eli Constant lives in Virginia with her husband, two daughters and rescue dog. She spends her days mothering, puttering about the house doing this and that and, of course, writing.

Her debut novel, “Dead Trees,” published in the winter of 2012. It is a dystopian thriller focusing on the trials of a mother across a post-apocalyptic, hostile landscape. Eli is obsessed with human nature and the choices people make when faced with insurmountable odds. She hopes to approach this obsession with every piece of writing, examining the nuances of humanity’s many faces.

Her published works, available on Amazon and at various retailers, are “Dead Trees,” “DRAG.N,” & “Mastic.” Her upcoming projects include “Let’s Scare Cancer to Death” (charity anthology out March 1st 2014, headed by TW Brown and May December Publications), “Fading Hope” (a multi-author, progressive anthology, birth child of Jack Wallen), “The Murderous Campbells” (a three-author anthology), “Dead Trees II” & a novel of interconnected zombie stories, tentatively titled “Children of the Z.”
Getting to know you & your book.

Stalker links and purchase links, shoe size… actually, you can leave off the shoe size, that’s not really important…

But what if they want to buy me shoes, Claire? I love shoes…

https://twitter.com/Author_EliC

https://www.facebook.com/authorEliConstant

www.eliconstant.com

http://authoreliconstant.wordpress.com/

Book Purchase links (Amazon)

http://www.amazon.com/Dead-Trees-Eli-Constant-ebook/dp/B00APYKD7G/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1391886592&sr=8-1&keywords=eli+constant 

http://www.amazon.com/Mastic-Eli-Constant-ebook/dp/B00FMHGX5W/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1391886521&sr=8-2&keywords=eli+constant

http://www.amazon.com/DRAG-N-Eli-Constant-ebook/dp/B00C0YRR6Y/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1391886521&sr=8-3&keywords=eli+constant

Tell us the name of the book you have in the Eat your Heart out event and a little bit about it.

“Dead Trees.” It’s a dystopian thriller focusing on the trials of a mother across a post-apocalypse and hostile landscape. 

  Here’s the blurb:  

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Elise Swanson is a widow and mother. She fights with gun and knife against nail and claw, praying she can keep her little, broken family safe. She drives and drives, day after day, trying to escape a threat that seems… inescapable. The Beasties. 

Subterranean humanoids, existing since the dawn of man, have arisen from the belly of the earth. Civilization is a ghost of yesterday. Remaining humans fight for survival. 

Pit stop fights with beasties define survival-road. Against all odds, Elise, her daughters and their new companions reach a safe zone. 

There’s no rest for the weary as Elise is drafted quickly into the heart of human resistance, her knowledge may be the key, the only hope humanity has of reclaiming their home from the Beasties.

What will happen when a Neural Engineer, a medical researcher and a computer wizard are humanity’s best hope? The answer might be surprising

Wrapped up in all the uncertainty, violence, science lingo and beasties, they will find a strange solution to a new Earth. 
 
And her name is Margaret.

I’m really obsessed with human nature and the choices people make when faced with insurmountable odds. That obsession is something I try to approach with every piece of writing. Humanity has many faces and I want to examine each one. 

Tell us something unusual or interesting about it.

It’s been described as a zombie novel without the zombies. I guess it just has that feel. There are many elements that are different, however- like the limitations my antagonists have: sensitivity to light, poor vision, anatomical traits that must adapt to surface life- products of evolving underground. And the advantages the Undergrounders are different too- they have the speed, the acute hearing, the clawed hands, so effective at ripping into human flesh.

Who’s your favourite character? And do you have a worst?

My favourite character in “Dead Trees” doesn’t enter the story until well past the halfway point; her name is Margaret and she’s a beastie/human crossbreed with wicked intelligence, accelerated growth and silver-white hair. She doesn’t get as much attention in this instalment, but when “Dead Trees II” releases, readers will find this character at the forefront of the storyline, matured and ready for action.

Hmm. I guess my least favourite character in the book is a secondary character named Allison. She’s a little too weak for my tastes, a little too whiney. I will say, though, that she redeems herself a bit toward the end.

What work do you have coming up in the future?

I’m delighted to say I have lots on the horizon for this year: Next month, the charity anthology headed by TW Brown and published by May December Publications, “Let’s Scare Cancer to Death” comes out. I’m proud to be a part of it, since all the proceeds go to the V Foundation for cancer research.

Also this year, I have a joint anthology with several authors headed up by Jack Wallen; it’s tentatively titled “Fading Hope” and focuses on just that, fading hope in impossible situations. It’s a look at humanity and human reaction.

In a fully cooperative effort, I’m working with Claire C. Riley & Ken Mooney on a 3-novella anthology revolving around a singular, group-decided theme- serial killers, specifically, serial killers inspired by cult classic films and historical figures. It’s going to be amazing.

For my independent work- I have several submissions out to different publishers, short stories mostly. I’m also currently writing “Dead Trees II,” due out early this Fall & a book of interconnected zombie stories inspired by my contribution to “Let’s Scare Cancer to Death.” Lastly, and it’s far in left field, I’ve written a Space Opera. That I’m just sitting on… debating, wondering when the time will be right to enter into that genre’s world. 

Zombies, books & other things.

What are some zombie books or authors that you would recommend to others and why?

Well, I know this is going to sound like ass-kissing, but Claire is my favourite Indie author. I’ve read Odium and Odium Origins twice. I’ve pimped them out to my friends, recommended them on social media. I even check her reviews on Goodreads and Amazon to see if she’s gotten new ones. Yeah… that’s the kind of freaky fangirl stalker I am.

Do you have a Z’ Plan in place? You know if the apocalypse started a plan on what you are going to do and where you will hide out, and if so will you share it with us?

My family and I would hit the pavement and head straight to my dad’s house. He’s a retired Air Force SERE (search, evasion, resistance & escape) instructor. I tell the absolute truth when I say that my dad has a bunker full of equipment, food and go-bags (backpacks with everything you’d possibly need to survive on the road). You want to know where he lives? Right. Like I’m going to tell you.

What makes you want to write about zombies or the apocalypse?

To tell you the truth, it’s not what I had in mind when I started writing. Never once thought about zombies when I was crafting the Undergrounders in “Dead Trees.” My contribution to “Let’s Scare Cancer to Death” was my first attempt at a zombie story. I loved writing it; I’d write it again in a skinny minute. Which makes me think that there are a lot of flesh-eating deadheads in my future.

How do you like your zombies?

Slow and shambling

or

Fast and clever?

I have mixed feelings about this- which translates into my first zombie story “Z Children” in the LSCtD anthology I was talking about. In that story, the children are fast and clever & the adults are slow and shambling. The reasoning behind that is explained in the story.

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Dead Trees Excerpt

Dead Trees Excerpt:

We were barely ten feet from the porch when I heard the scratching. Kara was burying her face in my shoulder. Megan was screaming in Jason’s arms.

I knew I was moving fast, but the turning of my head felt like someone had hit the slow motion button. Too many of them. Oh. My. God. There were too many.

Their pale, malformed faces were pressed against the window glass, the large table removed so they could see out. The dim light bothered their eyes. They squinted at us; but even without clear vision, they knew we were there. They could smell our scents lingering in the hotel. They could smell the musk of my daughters’ unwashed, campfire-scented hair.

“Run… Run!”

“I am running!” Jason’s voice was strained, bordering on hoarse.

“Run faster, damn it!” But we couldn’t go any faster and they were too fast. I made the mistake of glancing behind us again.

Undergrounders were pouring out of the hotel door. One after another on all fours, they came barreling towards us.

Since they weren’t feeding on human beings, I could only guess the undergrounder collective had decided on complete human genocide. Why else target two adults and two children minding their own damn business and only taking food that the undergrounders wouldn’t eat anyway?

It was freaking unfair.

The humanoids’ legs pushed backwards in unison like lions sprinting across the African plain. I could pinpoint the more evolved beasties- their joints were less feline, their appendages slightly more human and bipedal, less humanoid. The change did not affect their speed.

They were a mere hundred yards behind us and closing that distance rapidly. This herd didn’t seem to have crude weapons, just claw and teeth and speed.

I focused on running, trying not to keep looking back at the horror. The joint-popping sound was a blessing. At least I could measure the coming of my death by the proximity of the pop, pop, pop.

It was a little blessing in a hot hell.

Jason and I were side by side now. Each of us had one hand supporting a child and the other hand wielding a gun.

We sent bullet after bullet flying over our shoulders towards the approaching undergrounders. They came closer with every moment.

The less evolved ones were able to launch in predatory jumps.

I watched two of the smaller beasties push towards the ground and heave upwards. They sailed towards us, surpassing their brethren with ease, but their bodies flew too far. The jumping-jack humanoids whirled in unison to face us. 

Great. Beasties from all sides now.

We kept shooting, using our precious ammo. By the time they were upon us, their numbers had significantly dwindled.

The woods were even darker now. The van was so close, but seemed unreachable. The screeching of the undergrounders filled the night air. My girls screamed in terror- adding to the wild soundtrack of the chase. I was pushing as hard as I could, but my attention couldn’t be everywhere.

I didn’t see the rock flying towards me until it was too late.

It slammed into my right shoulder, so close to Kara’s little head, and sent me sprawling to the ground. All I could think was do not let go of Kara; but she flew out of my arms anyway and landed several feet away. She seemed unhurt, her eyes focused on me in shock. I could only spare her a falling glance.

© Eli Constant | 2012

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RJ Spears

Getting to know you & your book.

Name, stalker links and purchase links.

  Name:  R.J. Spears
Website:  http://rjspears.com/
Blog:  http://rjspears.blogspot.com/
Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5445765.R_J_Spears

Books: 
Forget the Alamo:  http://www.amazon.com/Forget-Alamo-Zombie-Novella-Zombies-ebook/dp/B00CJHOW9M/ref=la_B00APKD4BC_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1391722282&sr=1-5

Forget Texas:  http://www.amazon.com/Forget-Texas-Zombies-R-J-Spears-ebook/dp/B00FK3V678/ref=la_B00APKD4BC_1_7?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1391722301&sr=1-7

Sanctuary from the Dead:  http://www.amazon.com/Sanctuary-Dead-R-J-Spears-ebook/dp/B00E4DRQM4/ref=la_B00APKD4BC_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1391722313&sr=1-4

Tell us the name of the book you have in the Eat your Heart out event and a little bit about it.

Forget the Alamo tells the story of a U.S. Marshall and his protectee being stranded in the Alamo at the start of a zombie outbreak.  He teams up a rag-tag band of survivors to escape the hordes of undead as they face many obstacles to in a perilous ride out of the city.  

Tell us something unusual or interesting about it.

Forget the Alamo was inspired by a trip I made to San Antonio.   My wife and I toured the Alamo and my wife said you ought to write a book about people trapped in the Alamo surrounded by zombies.  It was a lot of fun to write.  I usually work with detailed outlines and this book had one, but it was sketchy at best.  So, I felt I was free to take the story where the events led me.  One fun fact is that a famous zombie author who happens to live and work in San Antonio makes a brief cameo appearance.  The other fun fact is that is has a sequel – Forget Texas. 

Who’s your favourite character? And do you have a worst?

In Forget the Alamo, it is the hero, U.S. Marshall Grant.  He’s a smarter, braver, and more competent version of me.  The only way I’m better than him is that I’m funnier, but he does have his moments.  There are no real villains in this book because it is tale of survival versus the undead. 

What work do you have coming up in the future?

Funny you should ask.  The second book in my Books of the Dead series launches on the same day as the Eat Your Heart Event, February 14.  It is called Lord of the Dead and it is the sequel to Sanctuary from the Dead which was released in 2013.  Lord of the Dead follows the protagonist of Sanctuary from the Dead and the group he works with to survive the zombie apocalypse.  If anyone’s interested in short stories, I just released a collection of my horror short stories called Dark Matters in January.   It is available on Amazon and contains 15 frightening tales – seven of which feature zombies.   

Zombies, books & other things.

What are some zombie books or authors that you would recommend to others and why?

This a tough question.  There are some good ones.

The Walking Dead rates up there.  It’s truly epic now.

Rhiannon Frater’s As the World Dies series is really engaging.  I think she gives some of the most realistic portrayals of people in a zombie apocalypse.

I’m a big fan of Joe McKinney.  His Dead City was the first zombie book I ever read and it as a great intro to zombie fiction. 

World War Z was a real page turner. 

Carrie Ryan’s The Forest of Hand and Teeth was very inventive.

Dan William’s Mace of the Apocalypse is another book that is close to Rhiannon Frater’s writer in that the characters are easy to relate to.

There are so many more.  Stephen Knight, Catt Dahman, Joe Maberry.  There are some great writers out there writing compelling zombie fiction.

Do you have a Z’ Plan in place? You know if the apocalypse started a plan on what you are going to do and where you will hide out, and if so will you share it with us?

My plan is sketchy at best.  Just as you would plan for any natural or social disaster, you have to consider what might happen and what you would have to do.  First, I live in a fairly large metropolitan area and I’m getting the heck out of there.  More people means more zombies.  We would probably go to my hometown which is much smaller and more manageable.

What makes you want to write about zombies?

I think I can trace my love of zombies back to seeing George Romero’s Dawn of the Dead.  It made an indelible mark on me when I saw it when it was released.  That scenario percolated in my head for years.  Before turning to writing horror, I wrote crime and mystery fiction, but something about zombies just drew me in.  I felt I had a story to tell and just went at it.

 
How do you like your zombies?

Slow and shambling

or

Fast and clever?

Slow and shambling – please.  Fast and clever and I’m dead. 

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Excerpt & Blurb From Forget The Alamo 

EXCERPT FROM FORGET THE ALAMO:

I don’t know why I was laughing, but I was.  For all intents and purposes, our situation was lost and we were most likely going to die, but for some implausible reason at that very moment, I found the whole situation completely absurd.

                Who wouldn’t?

We were at the Alamo, surrounded by, roughly, a thousand flesh eating zombies who wanted nothing more than to devour us whole.  Despite all this, our diligent tour guide couldn’t help but draw parallels between our perilous situation and that of the two hundred or so militiamen who died here nearly two centuries ago.

“Well, I just said at least the zombies don’t have canons like Santa Anna’s men,” said Randell, our effete and only living tour guide left alive.  “I don’t see what’s so funny about that.”  He still wore his official tour guide vest, but it was torn in several places.

None of the others in our dwindling group seemed to share my amusement so I tried my best to shut it down.  It only took two fizzled attempts to stifle my giggles.  

“They don’t need canons,” I said, still with a sense of mirth in my tone.  “They have teeth.” I let that hang there for a moment then added, “And endless patience.”

BLURB FROM FORGET THE ALAMO

When Grant was forced to land in San Antonio with his protectee, Sam Jenkins, he didn’t expect to be there for more than a day or two. That was until a strange viral outbreak started bringing the dead back to life and those reanimated dead started attacking the living. 

After a few harrowing days, Grant and a handful of other survivors find themselves trapped inside the Alamo, surrounded by a horde of the undead with their options narrowing. If the zombies don’t get them, starvation, or a military strike will. 

With their backs against the wall, they must learn to use their ingenuity to find a way to escape and then to survive.

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COVER FOR FORGET TEXAS

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Kurt Fawver

Getting to know you & your book.

Name:  Kurt Fawver

www.facebook.com/kfawver

www.twitter.com/banalapocalypse

www.kurtfawver.com

http://www.amazon.com/Forever-Pieces-Kurt-Fawver/dp/0615903967

Name of my book: Forever, in Pieces. It's a collection of eighteen decadent short stories that fall under the aegis of horror, dark fantasy, and weird fiction.

Tell us something unusual or interesting about it.

It's dark, literary, and really spans the gamut of genres. There are stories in here that might be called science fiction and stories that might be called bizarro. I try to never write exactly the same type of story twice, so I'm constantly shifting between genres and tropes and styles. I think the effect on the collection is to make every story unique and vibrant in its own right.

Who’s your favourite character? And do you have a worst?

My favorite character is Derrick McCoy in the story “Bolt” (which, as it happens, is one of the two zombie stories in the collection). I love writing post-apocalyptic survivors because I don't think most of them would be heroes – they'd be insane people with quite a bit of luck and a little bit of ingenuity.

My worst character? I don't have one. They're all spectacular in their own way!

What work do you have coming up in the future?

I have a story forthcoming in Weird Tales, a story in the upcoming Tor anthology Midian Unmade, and a story in the upcoming Dragon's Roost Press anthology Desolation: 21 Tales for Tails.

Zombies, books & other things.

What are some zombie books or authors that you would recommend to others and why? 

Tony Burgess' Pontypool, Max Brooks' World War Z, Brian Keene's Rising series, Stephen King's Pet Sematary.

Do you have a Z’ Plan in place? You know if the apocalypse started a plan on what you are going to do and where you will hide out, and if so will you share it with us? 

Sort of. First off, I'd hit the nearest pharmacy and loot everything in sight. Meds will be worth more than guns or ammo in a post-apocalyptic scenario. Next, it's off to find a weapon. Since ammo will eventually deplete, I'd prefer to stick with bladed weapons. That's a problem, though, considering there aren't sword smiths around every corner. Still, I'd like to find an implement with a sharp edge as my primary weapon. Then it's a matter of getting to a structure near clean, running water and boarding up windows. A couple runs to liquor stores and gas stations later (can't have enough flammable liquids in a zombie apocalypse) and you're on your way to setting up a base camp.

What makes you want to write about zombies?

They're a very multifaceted metaphor. They can work perfectly to act as a symbol of mindlessness, of consumerism, of overpopulation, of avarice, of hopelessness... and the list goes on and on. Because they have so many potential metaphorizations, they can be deployed in practically infinite varieties of narrative.

How do you like your zombies?

Slow and shambling – death is an impediment, not a superpower.

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Forever In Pieces Cover & Blurb

In this debut collection of short fiction from Kurt Fawver, one of the horror world’s rising stars, you will find a melange of lost souls, cosmic terrors, wondrous abysses, and even some good old-fashioned murder.

You will be taken to the end of humanity, to dystopian futures and personal hells. You’ll meet conquering gods and unholy messiahs, invisible babies and talking chairs, interdimensional monsters and the monsters we sometimes see all too clearly in the mirrors before our own faces.

The stories in Forever, in Pieces will immerse you in loneliness and loss, life and death, love and obsession, and, above all, the shadowed—and often terrible—veil of eternity.

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Forever, In Pieces Excerpt

Book excerpt (a full story from the collection):

For the Unhaunted

Some people swore that the house was haunted. It had to be haunted. After all, every other house on the block was haunted. In fact, every other house in the Dixon's entire neighborhood had at least one apparitional resident. Some were even blessed with two or three or more. There was no reason to assume that the Dixon's house should be so different, so bereft of undead energy. When friends and family came to visit, they all claimed to hear a shuffling of disembodied feet in the attic or insisted that they'd seen the hazy form of a torso squirming about in the bathroom. They all wanted to believe that Kat and Ryan weren't unable to call forth a being from the Other Side. But Kat and Ryan knew the truth: the house wasn't haunted. It was just a series of well-polished rooms and elaborately furnished dreams.

Try as they might, in eight years of marriage the Dixons hadn't been able to channel a single specter. At first, they did what everyone else did: they burned incense and lit candles, chanted archaic incantations and hung crystals. They welcomed the past into their lives and opened themselves to a future set in nostalgia. But no spirits came.  While their friends threw seance parties and compared the static burble of one another's EVP recordings with delight, Kat and Ryan sat at home, staring into empty corners and darkened hallways.

The couple began to consult psychic professionals and make appointments with the best mediums in the state; they sacrificed chickens and goats and prayed to skeletal gods.  Still no spirits came. Still no howls of joyful madness echoed through their living room. Days grew longer; nights grew calmer. Ghosts were everywhere but in their home. So, Kat and Ryan decided to take more extreme measures. If they wanted a spirit of their own, they were going to have to force it inside.

They robbed an unmarked grave and reburied the brittle corpse in their backyard; they invited an elderly homeless man to their house for dinner, then beat him to death and smeared his blood across their walls; they tried violent orgies and sex magics.  Nothing worked.  A spirit would not come to them. They were barren. Then Kat became pregnant.

While her stomach swelled, the Dixons considered the possibilities before them.  To be sure, raising a child would be wonderful, but having a ghost was what made life worth living.  The tingling excitement of revelation that arose from finding out who your spirit really was and the comfort of knowing that your spirit would never fully abandon you, that it would float by the side of your deathbed and would continue on indefinitely, carrying with it a memory of its time as your special ghost: these were the things that gave meaning to existence. Everyone said as much, and Kat and Ryan believed. They wanted a specter desperately. They wanted to be haunted.  And so, when the time came, they both gripped the handle of the butcher knife as it slid across their son's soft, fatty, freshly-powdered throat. They watched, together, while bubbles and blood commingled on a sky-blue onesie. A tear rolled down Kat's cheek. Ryan's unused hand trembled.

Surely, this would work. If a ghost would not come to them, they would make a ghost.

As the spark in the baby's eyes sputtered out, something in another room fell to the floor and shattered.

Nothing was ever the same again after that.

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How cool was that, right! I love getting to know new authors and their work, so I hope that you've found someone new to stalk. Don't forget to head on over to the event tomorrow and make sure you get to know some of the other authors involved--including myself. theer's a great selection of work up on sale, so pick up a bargain, have some fun with us authors and get your gore on!
Who needs flowers and chocolates for Valentines anyway?

Happy reading!

Claire ♥