Reaper Madness is Coming in November!!!

Hello my friends! It looks like Living Dead Girl's sequel, Reaper Madness, will be released on November 21st. I'm looking for bloggers willing to help spread the word with a promo post on release day. At the bottom of this post is a Google sign up form--if you're interested in helping, I'd really appreciate it!

Here's the unedited blurb so you know what the book is about:

Jen MacLellan can’t get the hang of being a reaper. She’s been separated from her lover, Jack. She's also stuck with that annoying telepathic link to her ill-tempered mentor, Sam. But when reapers start disappearing back on earth, Jen and Sam are recruited to help. Can they figure out what’s causing it before it’s too late?

Jack Norris has no memory prior to waking up on the half-demon Nulcifer’s couch six months earlier. As he begins to investigate his origins, he discovers a string of past lives, tied together by a beautiful, mysterious brunette. Does she really exist, and if she does, can he find her?

Fate reunites them after Sam falls victim to the attacks on earth. As they work to save Sam, can they rekindle what was lost? Or have things become too complicated…

Status Update

Reaper Madness is getting closer to being ready to be unleashed on the world. I've just sent back the first round of content edits. Something really clicked with this book in ways that Living Dead Girl didn't. Not that Living Dead Girl was bad, I just had a much more difficult time writing it. Thankfully edits were also pretty painless with this book...and it's already got me thinking more about book three. I ended up having one of those "YES" moments where a new idea suddenly came to me. So notes are being taken. Ideas are brewing. Stories being started. And edits are back for my anthology short "Love's Not Viral" as well. All that, and I've managed over 20K words on a non-paranormal story starring the couple from my short.

And finally, congratulations to the winner of my Goodreads givewaway...Jen H, your book will go out at the beginning of the week!

More Current Events!

It's funny, when I'm trying to hit all my social media with news, I start to feel like I'm repeating myself. ANYWAY :)

**Living Dead Girl is on sale. Or, the e-book version is. 

**There's also a signed paperback of Living Dead Girl up for grabs on Goodreads. There's a link in the sidebar!

**Reaper Madness is now up on Goodreads. As of yet, I don't have a release date to share, but I will be posting more information as it becomes available. 

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23256178-reaper-madness

Here's a rough blurb for the book (there will be a final edited version when the book comes out). But...here you go :)

This isn’t the afterlife she expected...

Jen MacLellan can’t get the hang of being a reaper. Her search for Jack, the man she loves, has come up empty. Now Death is breathing down her neck, dangling the promise he’ll remove that annoying telepathic link to the crass, sarcastic reaper named Sam if she gives him what he wants. But when reapers begin to disappear back on earth, leaving behind walking, talking dead people, Jen and Sam are thrust in the middle of a dangerous mission. Can they figure out what’s happening before it’s too late?

Jack Norris can’t remember anything before waking up in the living room of the half-demon Nulcifer six months earlier, but every time he closes his eyes he has visions of a mysterious, beautiful brunette. As he investigates his origins, a string of tortured past lives and fragmented memories weave together to reveal an undeniable link to the woman he’s been dreaming about. The question is, does she exist? And if she does, how will he find her?

Fate takes a drastic turn when Sam falls victim during a routine visit to earth, leaving Jen devastated and desperate to get him back. She seeks the help of a shady associate of Sam’s, only to run smack into the man she never thought she’d see again: Jack. The two embark on a journey to rescue Sam, but as they get reacquainted, dark secrets and plots are revealed, proving nothing is simple when it comes to love.

What's Happening

So a few weeks ago I talked briefly about it, but I wanted to give an update on what the status is with my writing projects:

Reaper Madness, the sequel for Living Dead Girl, is now under contract and in the hands of an editor. I've decided to name the series "Living Dead World". In the coming weeks, I will create a Goodreads listing and update my site to reflect the series. I'll also be sure to post a synopsis of the story (and of course, keep everyone up to date about when it's going to be released, or any other relevant information etc.) So keep an eye out!

I also signed on with a small group of writers to put out a Velentine's Day anthology "Love Least Expected", which is due to be released early next year. Each writer will contribute a story centered on the theme of finding love...when you least expect it. (Ha, see what I did there?) My story will be called "Love's Not Viral", and I'm scrambling to finish so it'll be ready for an editor in early October. I'll also be posting more about that in the near future, but for now, here's a look at the cover:

Antiheroes? Anyone?

So enough with the preachy blog posts. While I mean them in good humor--and ultimately anyone who knows me that I'm not the antagonistic type--I don't want this blog to be all about 'how to' or 'what not to do'. Right now, I'm thinking antiheroes. The true bad guys is books/TV/film who do questionable things, yet we find ourselves rooting for them. Why, you ask? Well, I've recently picked up Richrd Kadrey's latest installment in the Sandman Slim series, The Getaway God. Oddly enough this has coincided with me finally getting around the streaming the TV show Dexter. It seems I'm surrounded by them...

I'm not sure what it is, but I've always been drawn to these types of characters. James Stark of the Sandman Slim series (highly recommend if you like gritty dark humor + urban fantasy) is essentially a sarcastic asshole of a character; a magician who's been to Hell and back (literally) who pretty much plays by one set of rules--his own. Yet, despite his faults and nasty disposition, we're given such a solid look inside this character's head that as a reader you can't help but root for him. He makes no apologies for who he is. He's loyal to the people he cares about. He's saved the earth from monsters much, much worse than him. Basically, he's deeply flawed and doesn't always make the 'nice' choices, yet at the same time he can't really be classified as evil.

Dexter is a slightly different animal. I haven't read the books, but I'm midway through the third season of the TV show. On the surface, Dexter Morgan projects this image of a decent, hardworking guy who at worst appears to be a little odd and closed off from other people. Of course, because the story is from his POV, we know that's not the case. It's an interesting premise--this guy living a double life--forensic blood spatter analyst for the Miami PD on one side, prolific serial killer on the other. The idea that he's following a 'code' when choosing his victims (never someone innocent) which is referred to over and over, attempts to make the idea of a serial killer more palatable. Without the benefit of his constant internal monologue, I don't think this would work. Yet I think because we're so close to him, we see his struggle to maintain this dual life--basically we get to know him so well, it's hard not to feel for his character.

I don't want to turn this post into a novel, but there are more than a few characters out there that could also fit the bill. Think Taxi Driver's Travis Bickle or Alex from A Clockwork Orange. Maybe even Chess Putnam from Stacia Kane's Downside Ghosts series. What about you? Who are your favorite antiheroes?

Tweet this...Random Thoughts About Social Media

So I'm working on a short story that centers around an incident going viral on the internet (most prominently on Twitter) and it's got me thinking about some of the quirks, funny things and annoyances I see regularly while using the site myself.

1. "Buy XXX followers for $$$". Yeah...no, not happening. I can't think of a single instance where I'd fork over cash for anything related to Twitter, especially not just to pad my followers. I'm a firm believer in quality over quantity. I generally follow other writers, readers, and people with similar interests to me (music, movies, art, etc). Usually if I get a follower with this in their heading, I don't bother following back...I wouldn't be your customer, so it's probably a waste of both our times :)

2. "True Twit Validation". I have to admit, this one is a turn off. I usually unfollow when I get this message. I follow people who seem interesting or who appear to have common interests. I don't want to have to jump through hoops to do it...and going to another site to enter a captcha is annoying. And honestly? Real people spam too. They could easily fill out your validation and start bombarding you with sales pitches, so it seems pointless. Also, if you're someone who's trying to build a platform for your book/art/music/business, you're probably going to turn a few potential fans/customers away. It makes you seem unapproachable.

3. "Buy my book/album/etc, here's a link" via DM. I have never EVER been enticed into buying anything by someone using this method. Twitter is a social media platform. I get the promotion thing, I do, and I've used it to promote my own work. What I don't do is send a DM with a link to my book asking someone to buy it. It kind of smacks of desperation. So yes, make people aware that your book/etc exists with a quote, or a review link, or a graphic, etc. And yes, by all means throw in an Amazon link with it. Just please don't beg me to buy it.

4. "Would you please take the time to rate my book". Um...what? I was a little baffled the first time I got a DM like this. First, I'd never heard of the author or book. Second, I couldn't tell if they were asking me to arbitrarily rate it just to inflate their ratings numbers (which I'd never do) or what. I understand ratings and reviews can help sell a book, but I think this one needs a rewording "Hey, if you've read my book, I'd love it if you'd leave a review". Or something like that. It just seemed weird.

5. "The completely different language follower". If I can't understand anything in your profile or you're tweeting exclusively in a language other than English, I won't be able to read it. So...what's the point?

Wow, that sounded an awful lot like complaining :) I feel better now. I guess the point is, when you're on enough, you start to notice different types of interactions, and unfortunately it's the more unpleasant ones that stick in your mind. So what about you...what bugs you on social media? Not just Twitter, but any platform?

Aren't We All Guilty Then?

So I happened upon this article about an English teacher in Maryland (USA) who was put on leave by school administrators because he authored a novel that centered around a school shooting. I'm thinking...what? Unless something is being hidden from the public, it doesn't appear (according to the articles I read) that he's committed any actual crime. What it looks like is an over paranoid, knee jerk reaction to a work of FICTION and if that's the case, it sets a really dangerous, really scary precedent for potentially any author.

Yes, school shootings are a touchy subject.

Yes, he's an educator.

But does writing about one in his novel automatically make him worthy of a psyche evaluation? Of being treated like a criminal? It seems like it should be common sense, but just because someone's written a story about something horrific it doesn't mean they actually want it to happen. If that was the case, then look at the other countless authors out there who write about murder, torture, abuse, terrorism--the list goes on. Do we as authors now have to worry that, if the wrong person reads our books, it could be grounds to lose our jobs? That we could be subjected to a community-driven witch hunt because we dared to write about something terrible or controversial?

What about people that read these subjects then? People who watch movies or play video games or listen to music? Does an interest in violent or macabre subjects automatically make someone mentally unstable? Or prone to commit a crime? Where do we draw the line in all of this?

I don't know. Like I said, maybe there's more than meets the eye here. I almost hope there is. Because if his only crime is writing a novel about a school shooting, then this country is headed in a sad direction.