Interview with Craig DiLouie

Craig DiLouie is the author of Tooth and Nail. This 4 Undead Heads books received most of its praise for having strong military elements. The military side of the zombie apocalypse is something fans rarely see. Craig is also the author of many non-zombie novels. He is a wonderful writer and an all around nice guy. Enjoy the interview.

Lyle
What is it about zombies that interest you?

Craig
I don’t think I like zombie fiction so much as I love zombie apocalypse fiction. I want the stakes to be as high as possible—the end of the world. Give me zombies causing the end of the world, give me characters I care about, and ground it in realism, and I will love it.

Lyle
How long did it take you to write Tooth and Nail?

Craig
The novel took me about six months to write in all. Once I figured out how it started and how it ended, everything clicked.

Lyle
What made you write about the military side of a zombie apocalypse?

Craig
There are many zombie novels available right now and the latest trend is for authors to explore mash-ups with classics, comedy, historical zombies, etc. to offer something new and different. That’s great for some people but not for me. I could read the same basic zombie story over and over—there’s an outbreak, everybody’s turning into a zombie, people fight back in an effort to survive, the stakes include the end of the world—as long as it’s done well. Thankfully, there are some excellent authors in the genre that keep me busy reading. But nobody, in my opinion, has truly captured what it would be like to be in the military during the zombie apocalypse.

Many zombie books involve a group of average people shooting their way through a post-apocalyptic world. I would read these books and wonder: How could these people stay alive doing this where the world’s best-funded military failed? These books would also portray people who are remarkably well adjusted, emotionally speaking, considering everybody they know is dead and trying to eat the living, and I would wonder: Why aren’t they, well, more upset? And finally, these books would rarely talk about the horrific living conditions people would have to endure after the power fails and cities quickly become toxic sewers. For me, if it’s realistic, then the fantastic—zombies trying to kill you—becomes twice as real, twice as scary.

So I wrote a book that I hoped would put the reader directly into the action in a military unit during the zombie apocalypse and present the soldiers as flesh and blood, living people. I want the reader to feel like they are really there with these guys and experience the confusion of shooting civilians, the frustration of a jammed rifle, the elation of winning, the horror at seeing comrades die, the effects of adrenaline during combat, the smell of cordite in the air after a gunshot, and so on. Every time something happens, I want the reader to accept it not only as exciting, entertaining and involving, but also as realistic.

Lyle
Do you have any other published zombie material?

Craig
Not right now, although I’m looking to stay in this genre for a while. Prior to Tooth and Nail, I had always been a reader, not a writer, in this genre. As a writer, my first published works included a psychological thriller Paranoia, a science fiction novel The Great Planet Robbery, and a work of speculative fiction The Thin White Line. Horror had always seemed a very hard genre to break into. Then the big publishers made a mistake. They focused too heavily on vampires and published very few works of zombie fiction. It turns out there is strong demand out there for post-apocalyptic fiction in general and zombie fiction in particular from a community that supports small presses and gives a warm welcome to new authors. Suddenly, it didn’t seem so difficult to break into, so I wrote a novel I always wanted to read.

Lyle
Is there anything new you’re working on that you’d like to share?
Craig
My next novel is almost complete and is more of a character study than Tooth and Nail. What I mean by character study is the reader is going to really get in these people’s heads and learn about how they cope with and survive the apocalypse. It also has a very interesting twist on the standard zombie that I think even jaded fans will find very entertaining. I can’t give details right now but the best way to describe it generally is The Road meets 28 Days Later (but with a more hopeful ending) I’m going all out on this next one. It’s got more horror, more action, more monsters, higher stakes, characters you care about even more deeply. I honestly think it’s going to blow people’s minds.

Lyle
To you, what characteristics need to be present in order to be considered a zombie?

Craig
I like all kinds of zombies, both living (homicidal maniacs due to virus or some other cause) and dead (rising undead), both fast and slow, the kind that eat you and the kind that don’t. For me, the zombies are simply the Threat. What’s interesting is how people respond to the Threat. If they respond realistically, in conditions that are realistic, with good action, then I’m interested. So far, I’ve answered the question as a reader. As a writer, my answer is different: I like living, fast zombies—not superhuman or anything, but just regular people controlled by a virus that compels its victims to violently infect others. For me, they are simply scarier than a “shambler” coming at me at a speed I could escape by simply walking away quickly. In my view, fast, living zombies spreading a virus would also be more likely to infect the whole country fairly quickly as opposed to very slow undead zombies who somehow are walking around and able to attack the living even though they are half eaten.

Lyle
Out of all of the reasons the dead rise, which one is your favorite?

Craig
Anything that is realistic, which usually includes a virus. I would also happily accept a mysterious reason—the characters simply do not know how it started. My least favorite reason is supernatural. If God is trying to end the world, or if there are unleashed demons or some supernatural force like that and where even dead animals are gunning for you, then I am less interested as a reader because there is basically no hope for the characters to survive.

Lyle
Do you read other zombie fiction? Which novels have you enjoyed?
Craig
Great question. The short answer is I love zombie fiction as long as it is good. What makes a good book? For me, a good zombie book has credible, sympathetic characters that stand out against the zombie backdrop and who respond realistically to the horrors of the apocalypse, a believable or mystery cause of the zombie plague, a realistic portrayal of how hard it is to stay alive without civilization, realistic conflicts between the characters, a realistic threat by the zombies with realistic battles, high stakes, a sense that history is happening (that “9/11 feeling”), and some small thing that sets the work apart from the rest of the genre. Here are a few books that I found to be the best in no particular order:

Hater by David Moody
Autumn series by David Moody
One by Conrad Williams
World War Z by Max Brooks
Flu by Wayne Simmons
Dead City by Joe McKinney
The Rising by Brian Keene

Lyle
Have you prepared yourself for the upcoming zombie apocalypse?

Craig
The best thing you can do to prepare is take yoga classes so you can become flexible enough to kiss your own ass goodbye.

Lyle
Thanks for taking the time to chat with me today. I had fun reading Tooth and Nail, and look forward to reviewing more of your work.

Craig
Thank you! I enjoyed it. If your readers are interested in learning more about Tooth and Nail, they can visit the official website at www.infectedwar.com, or they can buy it from Amazon here and Barnes and Noble here. The book is available in Kindle and Mobi e-reader formats as well at a decent price, and an audio book version is also available here.

Tooth and Nail by Craig DiLouie

A few months back, I received an email from Mr. DiLouie asking if I could read and review his book. At the time I was unaware of all the new projects I would be taken on. I have finally gotten around to reading his book. Big thanks to Craig DiLouie for giving me a copy to review, and also for sending me more copies to give away. Giveaway details will be posted in the near future.

There’s something happening in America. A virus known as, Lyssa, is spreading quickly in the Manhattan area. Hospitals have been set up to take Lyssa infected patients only. But with the rapid rate of infection, the hospitals quickly close their doors to any new patients infected with Lyssa.

The US military has been called back from Iraq to assist the situation. When the military arrives they quickly make comparisons between Iraq and New York. The state is no longer the way it once was. The streets are filled with Lyssa infected individuals and they have become hostile. These aggressive Lyssa patients are classified as, Mad Dogs. Now that the streets are becoming unsafe for the soldiers, they are giving orders to fire upon any Mad Dogs. Lieutenant Bowman, doesn’t like the idea of ordering his men to fire upon unarmed civilians, but he is reminded that orders are orders and he must follow them.

LT. Bowman follows his orders, and when his platoon is met face to face with Mad Dogs, he doesn’t hesitate to give the command. With the increasing amount of infected wondering the streets, it becomes difficult to keep his men safe. Bowman is given orders to retreat and meet up with the surrounding platoons. With no air evacuations or tank assistance, Bowman’s men must walk through the city, which is now almost entirely overrun by the infected.

Let me start off by apologizing to Mr. DiLouie for taking so long in writing a review for his book. I know it took longer than anyone could have expected, but now I have finished Tooth and Nail and it quickly became a favorite. I loved the plot, this is the first book I have read that deals only with the military side of a zombie apocalypse. I really enjoyed how real the book felt. All of the emotions were there, I felt the terror in the soldiers when they were told to fire on the infected. Yeah, they were zombies, but at that time they just thought they were sick people who needed help. I really liked that. The character of LT. Bowman was fantastic. He was calm and really took charge of his men. I honestly felt the connection he had between his men, he cared about them and they respected him.

Even though all of the emotions were there, the book did lack in other places. The plot and the emotions were perfect, the dialogue was also well written. However, some of the writing was a bit rough. The flow would be perfect, then I’d come across a sentence where I feel would be better if the wording was different. That’s basically my only complaint about the book. Everything else was well organized, and had me wanting to read to the end without stopping. Wait, there is one more thing I'd like to add. When i first started this book it was easy to figure out that the author has military knowledge. He constantly references military terms that are hard to understand if you're not in the military. It was a bit hard for me to follow along with some of the military terms, he does go overboard with them and it gets little distracting.

All of the emotions, and bonds were there between Bowman and his men. That is probably the best part of the book. The action scenes were also amazingly written. When the military first fired on a group of infected my heart raced. I really fell into the moment. This book does come very close to being perfect, the only thing I didn’t like was that the flow gets interrupted at times. I will have to give Tooth and Nail, 4 Undead Heads out of 5.

Tooth and Nail is available through Amazon.com. If you’d like to support the site and also the author, please use the link to the left and buy a copy. Very soon, I will be holding a contest for a signed copy of Tooth and Nail, courtesy of Craig DiLouie. You can also try to score yourself a copy by entering the giveaway when the details are posted.

Interview with Etienne DeForest

Etienne is like Santa Clause. Whenever someone takes a picture of him. it never comes out clear. As you can see I have evidence to support my clam, just look at the picture above. No matter what i try to claim the fact is that Etienne is the author of The Zombie Survival Guide: How to Live Like a King After the Outbreak. This 4 Undead Heads book is written in the style of crude and offensive humor. If you are one of those people that takes things to seriously do not read his book. Etienne does have a lot of new work up his sleeve so be expecting more from this write. Enjoy the interview.

Lyle
Why zombies and why a survival guide?

Etienne
I had just lost my job like a lot of other people in recent years, that night I had a nightmare about zombie hordes ripping apart my house in a full on outbreak. Right before I woke up I was cowering helpless in a corner basically waiting to die. I didn’t like that feeling, I didn’t like being scared, and I wanted to do something to make me feel better about it. So I got up at 4am and started writing.

Lyle
Did you write the book from beginning to end or did you write different sections first?

Etienne
I wrote from beginning to end, but I planned out what each section was going to be prior to writing the book. So I would occasionally jot down notes and jokes that I would cross my mind while driving or something on sections I had not reached yet.

Lyle
What was going on in your head when you such a humorous book?

Etienne
Honestly, I am incapable of being serious for more then ten minutes. For me to try to write a serious book would have been impossible. So I wrote the book directly in line with my personality. In fact, everybody I know personally who has read the book tells me that they feel like I’m standing in the room with them reading the book to them personally.

Lyle
How long did it take you to write The Zombie Survival Guide: How to Live like a King After the Outbreak?

Etienne
Not long, only about three months. However, I worked on it constantly. I didn’t have a job but I felt like I needed to wake up and go to work still. So that’s what I did. I woke up, went to work in my office, then let myself off work when I was happy with my writing for the day.

Lyle
Did you ever come across any writers block? How did you deal with that?

Etienne
All the time I came across writers block. I’d typically go buy a 12 pack when that happened.

Lyle
I read some of the attacks you have been getting on Amazon from people that just don’t understand the humor. How would you describe your book to people in order to make them understand what you’re trying to accomplish?

Etienne
I’m so glad you brought that up, and I love the way you worded it. They “just don’t understand the humor”. I’d like to say that it doesn’t affect me, but it does. In fact, it pisses me off. I just want to ask them, “Did you flip through the book before you bought it?” “What did you think you were buying?”

I shouldn’t get mad though. Honestly, I was intentionally trying to piss people or make them laugh their asses off. The majority of the reviews are “I LOVE THIS BOOK!” or “THIS IS THE WORST BOOK EVER!” So as far as I’m concerned, I accomplished my goals. The people who write bad reviews for the book I can tell are genuinely offended. I’m actually a little proud of the fact that I can provoke an emotion as strong as anger with a joke.

Lyle
I’ve noticed that. As of right now you have ten 5 stars and three 1 star reviews. Either they hate it or love it. Do you have any upcoming promotions for your books?

Etienne
Man, I suck at promoting my book. I’d like to get it associated with some contest or something but the problem I keep running into is that it’s so damn offensive I’m afraid to ask people to be associated with it. I think I’m going to piss them off or something. So I pretty much just hang back and let people approach me if they are interested in giving it away for a contest or something.

Lyle
What are some of your favor zombie books and movies?

Etienne
Het Madden by Cal Miller, favorite zombie book hands down. After that, WWZ is an awesome book as well.

As far as movies, you know I gotta go with Shawn of the Dead. I’m a comedy guy.

Lyle
Do you have any upcoming work you’d like to share?

Etienne
The next book is Texas Biker Zombies from Outer Space. It’s a Choose Your Own Adventure style book about a coked up biker who finds himself in the middle of a zombie outbreak. So far I think it’s way better then the first book.

I’m also working on a project called Dead on Earth. This is my first experience writing where I don’t have total control of my content. I’ve only been on the team for a week and I’ve already been told that some of my ideas are to offensive for the project. I’m not sure if this will help or hurt my writing, but I’m actually kind of glad there is somebody there to draw a line for me.

Lyle
Out of all the reasons the dead walk, what is your favorite?

Etienne
I like the parasite theory. It already happens naturally with other species so to me it’s the most feasible. 

Lyle
To you, what characteristics need to be present in order to be considered a zombie?

Etienne
A zombie has to be animated death. Everything else is open to interpretation. I hate it when I hear fan-boys say, “Zombies don’t run!”, “Zombies can’t think!” You know what? You can’t think! Make sure to come up for air after you fellate Max Brooks and George Romero.

Lyle
Have you prepared yourself for the upcoming zombie apocalypse?

Etienne
I just bought a case of beer.

Lyle
Thanks so much for taking the time to answer a few questions. I look forward to reviewing more of your work.

Etienne
Thanks for reviewing it!

The Zombie Survival Guide: How to Live Like a King After the Outbreak by Etienne DeForest

That is correct. Here is another zombie survival guide type book I am reviewing. I promised Etienne I would have his review up as soon as possible. I apologize for having two ‘survival guide’ reviews so close to each other. Etienne is a very funny guy, most people won’t find his humor comical because he does go a little too far sometimes. It’s not bad, I think he’s hilarious. When I got the review request from him he made a comment that might have made someone else uncomfortable. I, on the other hand, found his comment very funny. Etienne quickly apologized for the comment and I told him I was dying of laughter, he replied that if I thought his joke was funny then I would dig his book.

Like most survival guides they like to start with reasons why the dead rise. Without a doubt Etienne explanations are my favorite. Not because of the information but of the way he presents them. Some pages have images that go along with the text. When he talks about the ancient Egyptians having the first known outbreak there’s a picture of the mummification process, and the mummy has the word ‘brains’ coming out of it like a comic book. There’s many other images like that, for whatever reason the zombies rise there is a picture with a character saying the word ‘brains’. I still get a kick out of that.

I will skip a lot of sections in the book because I don’t want to give too much away. I’ll briefly mention the ‘Dealing with Humans After the Outbreak’ section. The people Etienne describes are perfect. There really isn’t much to this section but it is funny to read what people would possibly do during a zombie outbreak …like pimp out zombie hookers.

Moving on to the funniest section in The Zombie Survival Guide: How to Live like a King After the Outbreak, ‘Zombie Training’. I couldn’t stop laughing at how Etienne suggests you train your zombie. It consists of beating the zombie senseless until it stops coming after you. That’s basically it. After your zombie submits you can teach it to cook you food, take a drive, and even play video games. There are awesome images of this in the book, which alone, are worth the price, to me that is.

Like I said before, Etienne’s humor will not be for everyone. I have read some of the reviews about his book and I somewhat have to agree. He does take things a bit too far, but if you want to read some crude humor I suggest this book. It surprised me how easy Etienne’s guide was to read. All the jokes were clear and everything flowed well. I still laugh at some of the images in the book. It’s one of those things that once you see them they’ll stay with you for a long time.

As far as rating goes, throughout the book I was thinking in my head ‘this is a solid 3 Undead Heads’. I was on the very last chapter, ‘The Zombie King’, and I totally changed my mind. That was probably the funniest, most offensive chapter I have ever read. I was at work reading the ending during lunch and I busted out laughing. My eyes watered and everyone enjoying their lunch in the office looked at me. I went outside to compose myself. But keep in mind that I have a very good sense of humor. I don’t find things offensive when it’s presented to be for humor. I don’t get the feeling of hatred from Etienne so I find it easy to laugh at his jokes. If it wasn’t for that last chapter Etienne’s book would have received a 3 but I will have to give The Zombie Survival Guide: How to Live like a King After the Outbreak, 4 Undead Heads out of 5.

I have never seen this book anywhere other than Amazon.com. It is a very funny self-published book that I recommended only to people who can take a joke. I don’t get the feeling that Etienne meant for this book to be taken seriously, he just wanted people to laugh. If you’d like to support the site and pick up a copy of The Zombie Survival Guide: How to Live like a King After the Outbreak yourself than please use the link to the left.

Interview with Alan Gandy

 Alan Gandy is the author of Voyeur Dead. This 4 Undead Head book is truly one of my favorites. Alan's writing style is very original and he has fresh ideas that will take the undead to a new level. Enjoy the interview.

Lyle
So, where in the world did the idea for Voyeur Dead come from?
Alan
It came from my issue with POV horror films. I like them, but I wanted to see one where I could believe that someone would really keep holding onto a camera. So I started thinking about why a person would think it was a good idea to continue to hold a camera while running from some awful monster, when my voyeur character started to take life. Once he was real to me all I had to do was add water (zombies) and POW! Voyeur Dead.

Lyle
Who are all the characters in Voyeur Dead? Are all of them your friends?
Alan
Karleena Ailie - Clair
Shawna Weber -  Bettie
Ali Carper - Lily
Desirae Fraser - Peaches
Rachel Donahue - Candy
Ian Smith - Wobbles
Tim Forehand – Shredder

Once the book was written and the scenes for the photos were plotted out, I placed an ad for actors and models for a horror project. I interviewed all of them and picked the ones I thought best for the parts. Through the process of making the book we all started bonding. After the shoot for the last scenes in the book were finished, it was like when summer camp is over and everyone was suppose to go their separate ways.  We decided, fuck that!  Let’s keep doing creative stuff together until it’s time to make the next book. Plus, this way no one is crying in the back of their mom’s car as it drives away.

So, I don’t know if “friends” is the right word for us. I think of us as more like a gang or mob of creative misfits, bonded in rotted flesh, broken bones and rives of blood, put on this planet to spread evil and mayhem, ultimately breaking the spirits of the living to make way for the coming Undead.
Or we could be just friends.

Lyle
Why did you choose to write about zombies?

Alan
I love zombies. My dad used to make us watch Zombie movies with him when my brother and I were kids and we all would make up stories and pretend we were in the zombie apocalypse. I was raised on horror and most of it was zombie films. And now I do the same with my children, who now have started writing zombie stories in turn.
It’s just a family tradition.

Lyle
Will there be a Voyeur Dead 2?
Alan
Yes. I want to go bigger and have more zombies and gore in the book, so right now I’m working on the budget for the book. But most of the story is complete.

Lyle
Where did you do the shooting for the photos in the book?
Alan
All around Seattle. Some were taken in a bar that I frequent. Most were just shot in abandoned buildings, parks and alleys.

Lyle
To you, what characteristics need to be in place in order to be considered a zombie?
Alan
I like my zombies Dead; not sick or infected with a virus that makes one crazy.

Lyle
How long have you been writing?

Alan
I’ve been writing since I was about fourteen. My first story that was ever published was one that I worked on with my cousin (RIP), for Dark Horse Comics when I was about sixteen.  I also wrote scripts for low budget horror movies for a group called the Zombie Boys when I was younger.

Lyle
What explanation for the dead walking are you most interested in?

Alan
I like the explanation that we have failed as a species, and now God, the Devil or whatever power that may be decided it was time to clean house. If you think about it, that explanation makes the most sense. Go ahead and turn on your TV. You will see the horrors of man- sparkly vampires, and mans greatest evil, prancing around and yelling ga ga like some retarded baby with no clothes on.
Yeah, so I like Zombies as a form of punishment.

Lyle
Have you heard that Romero is giving the explanation for the dead rising in his upcoming book, The Living Dead: The Beginning?

Alan
No I did not. But that is awesome. I am definitely looking forward to reading it.

Lyle
Do you read any other zombie fiction? What is your favorite book?

Alan
Yes, I read a lot of zombie fiction. I really dig Het Madden, A Zombie Perspective by Calvin A. L. Miller II.  I thought World War Z by Max Brooks was a fun book. But mostly I am into this little underground graphic novel series that many people haven’t heard about yet, The Walking Dead by Robert Kirkman. But shh! Don’t tell anyone, I like being the only person who knows about it.

Lyle
How excited are you about the AMC adaptation of The Walking Dead?

Alan
Not to be crude but I try not to think about it. I’m running out of clean pants.

Lyle
Are you currently working on any other projects you’d like to share?

Alan
I just finished a story for an anthology for the Undead Nation. The stories were compiled by Cal Miller and myself. Voyeur Dead 2 is in the beginning stages of production and there is a new Voyeur Dead Magazine featuring monster pin-ups that is hot off the presses.

Lyle
Have you prepared yourself for the zombie apocalypse?

Alan
No!  I would like it to be a total surprise.

Lyle
Do you have any upcoming book signings?

Alan
Right now my for sure next one will be at ZomBcon in October. But the Voyeur Dead Girls are working on some events where I think I will be able to set something up.

Lyle
Thanks so much for taking the time to chat with my Alan. It’s been fun.

Alan
No! Thank you. I love your site and reading your reviews. It’s been an honor.   

Voyeur Dead by Alan Gandy

I came into contact with Alan through the review and interview I did with Cal Miller. Both are very cool guys and are awesome authors. After my interview with Cal, Alan contacted me and asked if I could review his book. He sent me a copy and I just got around to it a few days ago, another book that fell into my set back period. Voyeur Dead is a very unique book and I’d like to thank Alan for supplying me with a copy.

The main character in the book is never identified but for the purpose of names I’ll call him Voyeur. Voyeur is a pervert that stalks women. He has recently found new pray, a woman by the name of Clair catches his eye. He finds out that Clair is a stripper at a local strip joint. Voyeur desperately wants to catch a nude picture of Clair so he attaches a video camera to a helmet. He is not stupid and knows that if he goes into a strip club with a helmet on the bouncers will be suspicious. Voyeur creates a persona to incorporate the helmet into his day to day life. After a few weeks the bounces get to know him and soon pay no attention to his helmet.

The day has come, Voyeur hooks up his video camera to the helmet. The evening goes on normal but Clair is not at work that night. Voyeur continues to tape the strip show when the walking dead storm into the club. Voyeur does his best to escape the club unharmed. He pushes the crowd of people and makes his way to a vent with a stripper. Soon after Voyeur makes a careless mistake which costs the dancers life. He makes his way out of the strip club and heads into the city overrun by the dead in search of Clair, his prey.

Voyeur Dead is by far one of the most creative books I have ever read. The book structure is wonderful, it’s written through the eyes of Voyeur’s helmet camera. Many pages in the book have photos that Voyeur took with his camera. There are pictures of Clair doing her normal day to day tasks and pictures of the strip club, also of the walking dead. I think that was a wonderful touch I have never seen anyone else do. I have to give kudos to Alan for writing a book through the eyes of a pervert.

The plot was very interesting. I did kind of feel a little dirty reading this book and knowing what Voyeur was doing with his prey, but enough about that. Some of the zombies looked fantastic but others looked silly. The girls in the pictures were very attractive, especially Clair. Ok, back to the plot. Everything moves so fast, it was like no one knew anything was wrong until the whole town was overrun. I feel like because Voyeur was so into his ‘game’ he didn’t notice that something was wrong. Since it is a first person book, the reader doesn’t get the full story. Sometimes that hurts the book but Alan does a good job presenting what he can with the point of view.

There were a few things I noticed that I didn’t like. There were very minor spelling mistakes. Not to many that I need to mention anymore. Some of the situations Voyeur found himself in felt like it was just added in for filler. It wasn’t interesting, and it seemed out of place. Another thing I really didn’t like was the ending. It just felt like it ended suddenly. I think I heard somewhere that there will be a Voyeur Dead 2 and if there is I’ll change my mind on the ending. If there isn’t then I stick to my position on it. The ending made no sense to me.

Voyeur Dead was awesome regardless of my minor tiffs. I thought it was a fantastic way to present a story like this. It kept me entertained throughout most of the book and I really enjoyed the images. Even though it was meant to be perverted in the book I know that everyone was acting and posing. No harm no foul. I will have to give Voyeur Dead, 4 Undead Heads out of 5.

Voyeur Dead is available on Amazon.com. If you’d like to support the site and the author please use the link to the left and buy yourself a copy of this wonderful book. For all you people going to ZomBcon, Alan Gandy will be selling signed copies of the book. If you want to get yourself a signed copy I suggest you make it to ZomBcon 2010. 

Dead: The Ugly Beginning by TW Brown

This book is one I have neglected for quite some time. I apologize for that. Dead: The Ugly Beginning came to me around the time I was writing my own short stories. A lot of website reviews took a back seat while I wrote. I am trying to get back into the swing of things but now with the charity anthology I am editing, things might slow down a bit. I will try to write more reviews while I edit and compile my anthology. My thanks to TW Brown for supplying me with a copy of Dead: The Ugly Beginning.

The dead have begun to walk. The infection that brought the dead back to life is quickly spreading. Steve Hobart is just your normal guy living a normal life when he receives a call from a friend. Steve’s life is quickly turned upside down when he hears the news.

At first Steve doesn’t believe it but when one of the infected comes shambling through his front door his mind changes. After nearly being eaten alive Steve escapes his apartment complex and ventures out into the street. Everything is quiet at first but quickly things begin to go wrong. There are zombies everywhere. Steve spots a little girl, he notices that she lives at his apartment complex, Thalia is her name. He calls her over and discovers Thalia’s mom being eaten alive. Steve cares for Thalia from that day on. The two escape the carnage and venture into a town that is, now overrun by the dead.

Like I said before, Dead: The Ugly Beginning is a book that I have been trying to read and review for a long time. Now that I have finally gotten around to it I have to say that I really enjoyed it, but I did not like the way the book was presented. I would have loved for this book to just be about Steve. Honestly that was my favorite story in the book. There were many characters and side stories that when I got back to Steve’s tale I forgot where I left off with him. I’ve always had problems with books that present their story with a lot of separate characters.

Despite my tiffs with the way the book was written I still enjoyed it. Brown’s way of describing situations has really improved since I read Zomblog. I know people would rather not have me compare but I feel like I have too. I enjoyed Dead a lot more than I enjoyed Zomblog. Todd’s writing has really improved. The gore scenes in this book were fantastic. There were some set ups that were easy to determine where they were going but presentation wise they were excellent.

I recommend this book to anyone looking for a good story filled with blood and guts. I’m still amazed at the improvements Todd has made in his writing. If this is what his next book will be like then you can rest assure I will be checking it out. I will give Dead: The Ugly Beginning 4 Undead Heads out of 5.

Dead: The Ugly Beginning is available through Amazon.com. If you’d like to support the site please use the link to the left and buy yourself a copy.

Interview with Stacey Jay

 Stacey Jay is the author of You Are so Undead to Me, Undead Much? and many other books. Her popularity in the writing community grows with every wonderful book she puts out. She has a fantastic way with words and is certainly one of my favorite authors. Stacey is also a very nice lady and I'm happy i got the opportunity to interview her.

Lyle

Why did you decide to write about zombies?

Stacey
I’ve always been fascinated by zombies. They’re such an intriguing mix of scary and funny as hell. A rotted corpse moaning for brains…it’s funny, right? Yet scary because you need your brain for many, many important things like staying alive. So, scary and funny—two things I really enjoy writing. Add a little romance in there—because I am a die-hard romantic and love a good happy ever after!—and I’m in writer heaven. I’ve had such fun writing the Megan Berry zombie settler series (You are So Undead to Me and Undead Much?) and am excited to continue Megan’s story. (Hopefully I’ll have news about the next book in the series soon!) My So Called Death was also a blast. That book is from the point of view of a cheerleader who becomes a zombie after a fall from a stunt pyramid and was a fun change of pace.

Lyle
Have you thought about taking your writing skill to another genre?

Stacey
I actually write adult romances and urban fantasy under another pen name. I don’t share that pen name with my Young Adult readers, however, because some of the sexual content isn’t 12 and up appropriate. I’m happy to share my adult pen name with my older readers, however, and often send that info via email to interested parties. I’m also trying to convince Pocket books to let me publish my upcoming adult urban fantasy series as Stacey Jay. It’s a first person paranormal mystery series and (I think) appropriate for older teens and beyond. I’ll let readers know what they decide as soon as I know!

Lyle
How long did it take you to write You Are So Undead to Me?

Stacey
Hmm. Well, that’s a hard question. My first draft took about 6 weeks. The edits—rounds one and two and three—took close to two months. They were grueling. You are So Undead to Me was my first book with a NY publisher and I had a lot of learning to do. Now my first drafts are tighter and edits usually not quite as intense. *Knocking on wood and eyeing my editors nervously*

Lyle
How did you come up with the concept of ‘settling’?

Stacey
I wanted Megan to do more than kick zombie ass, I wanted her to help people and be forced to use her heart as well as her supernatural strength. Settling—having zombies with unsettled business come to supernatural go-betweens for help—came to me while I was driving, as most of my ideas do, and I knew right away it was something I would love to use in a book.

Lyle
How did you manage to mimic the language of a fifteen year old girl for your character Megan?

Stacey
I didn’t really try to mimic a teenager’s language so much as think about how I spoke when I was that age—and still do speak, really. (I’ll admit it, I throw around the word “totally” totally more than a 32-year-old woman should. Totally. For real.)

Lyle
Well without trying you did a fantastic job with it.

Stacey
Thank you!

Lyle
Do you know any inside information on a possible You Are So Undead to Me movie adaptation?

Stacey
I do not. But the film rights are available. *Eyeing Hollywood producers appealingly*

Lyle
If a movie was to be made I would be all for it.

Stacey
Me too!

Lyle
Have you had a chance to listen to the audiobook?

Stacey
No! I listened to part of it, but it was kind of like hearing my voice on a tape recorder. It freaked me out to hear my words read aloud by someone else. But I thought the narrator they chose was fantastic! I hope she does an audio book for the second installment in the series.

Lyle
Will there be an audiobook for Undead Much? I agree Jessica Almasy did a wonderful job.

Stacey
I have no idea. I had no idea the first had been made into an audiobook until a reader wrote me asking about book two. Authors. We are often the last to know, lol!

Lyle
Can you give us a little peek at what you have lined up next for Megan?

Stacey
I can’t at this time, but as soon as a contract is signed I will explode with the news on my blog and website so stay tuned. Hopefully I’ll have some good news to announce before the end of the summer.

Lyle
What are your favorite zombie movies and books?

Stacey
My absolute favorite zombie movie is 28 DAYS LATER. It just hit all the zombie awesome buttons for me. I haven’t read any zombie books lately, but I’m looking forward to catching up on my brain-eater reading this summer by the pool.

Lyle
Well I know of a website with some zombie book reviews. *wink wink* How do you feel about people saying the infected in 28 Days Later are not zombies?

Stacey
Lol. I think those people are FOOLS! Made of fail!! 28 Days Later is totally a zombie movie.

Lyle
Have you prepared yourself for the approaching zombie apocalypse?

Stacey
Of course. My shovel is sharp and parked near the bed and we’ve got plenty of bottled water and bandages and whole milk. Zombies are notoriously lactose intolerant. We think chocolate milkshakes will be our first line of defense.

Lyle
Thanks so much for taking the time to talk to me Stacy. I’ve had a blast and I look forward to more of your zombie stuff!

Stacey
Thanks for having me Lyle!