Watchout! Zombies!

Okay, you know my books, The Fourth Queen and The Lost Queen. You know my short stories from One and Small World Global Protection Agency. You know my writing is safe, clean and fun for the whole family.


Maybe you don't know I have a guilty pleasure: Zombies!


I watch the movies. I read the books. I play the video games. So when my fellow Trestle Press authors Darren Sant and Sam Lang started a new zombie series called Severed, I was hooked. The debut story, In the Beginning, was strong on characters and had such a huge scope. So, I got with them and dazzled them with my hard-hitting journalism.


Without further ado, I would like to welcome Darren and Sam to the Land of Empyrean.


ME: What made you want to write about zombies? What is their appeal to you?


SL: It seems that many of the horror greats have tackled the subject. I've wanted to do a zombie story for some time. When I heard Darren on Giovanni Gelati's G-Zone talking about it, the opportunity presented itself. I wanted to do a different take on what's been done and working with Darren, I think we are going to accomplish that. My appeal to zombies is the sheer hopeless, faceless horror. With a vamp or a werewolf, you can give it a name then kill it. Zombies keep coming and they come in droves. They are mindless, but with a singular purpose. Kind of like trying to stop the ocean from hitting the beach with a five gallon bucket.


DS: For me the appeal is not so much the zombies as the scenario. I’ve always enjoyed post apocalyptic end of the world stories. How do people cope? How do they survive? What do they do?  I like the thought that we could all start again afresh from the ashes of the Old World that has so much wrong with it.


ME: Wow. Hopeless and apocalyptic. You two must be barrels of fun when you get together. Of course, I'm aware that Sam is in the US and Darren is in the UK. Now, writing is a typically solitary endeavor. How is it collaborating? How do you divide the work/ideas? Any unusual challenges?


DS: The challenge is keeping up with Sam. The man is a turbo charged Energizer Bunny of ideas. We’re looking at sections and chatting about how they might pan out. My flair as a writer of short and flash fiction primarily is for creating short scenes. Sam, he may disagree with me, has a better idea of the big picture.


SL: I typically prefer to be alone, writing or not. Darren is a fantastic writer and so easy going. We get along famously! Luckily, we are basically on the same page all the time. We email back and forth only to find out we have each had the same idea. As to dividing the work, it's been organic so far. We both contribute equally to the end result and I think you will see that flourish more in the second installment. The only challenge I've encountered is the difference in our time zones and that is not really a factor.


ME: It seems that you compliment each other very well. I'm excited to see where you take this series. Can you give any hints to what we can expect? Is there an end goal?


SL: Oh, I don't like to give away the surprise. We'll see what Darren has to offer, but all I will say is that it is shaping up to be quite huge.


DS: Nope. Because then we’d have to kill you.  Let’s just say you’re in for a wild ride that will feature more super natural creatures and action from around the globe.


ME: I definitely don't want to be zombie food! To be safe, I'll change the subject. What else are you working on at the moment?


SL: I've turned over my contribution to the Drunk on the Moon series to Paul D. Brazill. Beyond that, we should see the next chapter of Reprisal very soon. I've got some more convicts to parade out before we get to the really gruesome stuff.


DS: My third Longcroft story, which I can exclusively reveal, will be called Temple and the Cross is nearly finished. I’m working on a collaboration with Cody Toye, another Trestle author.  I have a hard boiled story for Trestle in November and various other projects that I shouldn't have taken on because I want a social life! 


ME: Very nice. You both seem to be extremely busy. Darren, thanks for giving me the exclusive on the title to your new Longcroft story. I did read the first two stories and thoroughly enjoyed them. Back to the zombies, what are your influences?


DS: Night of the Living Dead as a film.  The excellent new series Walking Dead.  Fiction wise there was an excellent zombie anthology I read this year by Wild Wolf publishing called Holiday of the Dead.  That was a huge anthology and it has inspired me a lot.


SL: The first and last movie to ever truly scare me was the original Night of the Living Dead. George Romero keeps doing it right, Land of the Dead was excellent as well. Bookwise, I've got my eye on Death Troopers. What could be a better combination than Star Wars and zombies?


ME: Star Wars undead? Sounds fun. It seems that you both must have been warped by the Night of the Living Dead. One of you being from Florida and the other from Hull, do you find your nationality playing a factor or bringing something unique to the stories?


SL: Other than some familiarity with some of the settings, I can't think of anything specific. Horror is one of those genres that speaks to the heart in any language.


DS: Hmmm. A good question.  I think my Britishness is more a state of mind. I have a certain humour that is very British. I also do melancholy very well, perhaps because we are a cold miserable rained on lot over here in Blighty.


ME: England does seem to be quite dreary. Just kidding. Darren, I suspected you were a bit of a comedian. Does anyone ever mistake you for the actor Matt Lucas? I saw him in Krod Mandoon and the Flaming Sword of Fire. Funny guy.


DS: Annoyingly that comparison has been made. It makes me want to swear. I wouldn’t mind the little man’s cash that’s for sure.  Joking aside he’s a rare comic talent and I could have been compared to worse.


ME: Well said. Sam, my last question is for you. I'm on Facebook too much and I've noticed a lack of photos of you.


SL: Some of the skulls on my covers are more attractive. But seriously, I enjoy my privacy and solitude.


ME: That's understandable. Social media can easily become pretty invasive. I want to thank you both for taking the time to answer my questions. I'm sure our audience will enjoy reading what you have to say. By the way, as of  this writing, I saw Severed made it to #78 on Amazon UK. Congratulations and I hope it keeps going!


Severed: In the Beginning is available from Trestle Press on Kindle for ONLY 99 Cents.

Trestle's Coming Through

Over the next several months, you are going to see me talking a lot about some other authors I am affiliated with through Trestle Press.

These authors come from many different genres, but they all have one thing in common: We want you to read and enjoy what you are reading!

I think what I'll do is give you a nice overview of several authors here. Then for the rest of the week, I will get in depth through some of my different social sites.

Without further ado:

Robert Ford is the author of The World of Hek, a supernatural series, and Curse of the Translucent Monster.

Wenona Hulsey offers paranormal YA with Burden of Blood.

Sam Lang, another horror author, has the Reprisal series and looks to be starting a zombie collaboration called Severed.

S. L. Schmitz breathes new life into Bram Stoker's Dracula with Mina's Daughter, a steampunk series.

These are the authors and that was only a sampling of what they offer. Watch for more posts and tidbits all week.

Review: The Nightmarys by Dan Poblocki

I thoroughly enjoyed The Nightmarys by Dan Poblocki.

While not exactly a sequel, this book far exceeds its predecessor, The Stone Child. The author manages to create a more intriguing story set on a richer canvas with deeper, more realized characters.

This is intended to be a middle-grade or young adult story, but it kept my attention throughout. I even related to the emotions and thoughts of the main character, Timothy July. Timothy is well-rounded and the reader is able to connect with him. The added element of Timothy’s brother being a soldier wounded in the Middle East made this character more than a simple cardboard cutout going through the steps of solving a mystery.

The story itself had the tense supernatural mystery for which the author is known. Timothy July is assigned a special class project and is paired up with the new girl, Abigail, a loner. Their trip to the museum drops them into a decades old web of secrets. Soon the line between reality and terrible imagination becomes blurred as Timothy and Abigail struggle to find the truth. I liked that it was not a simple one, two, three easy-to-solve mystery. The characters had to work to discover the truth and that, to me, is always more satisfying.

There were also a few surprises that connected the world of The Nightmarys to The Stone Child. Also, the author appeared to put considerable effort into the mythology behind his plot. As in his first book, there is a lot going on with the supernatural elements that might be over the head of younger readers, but bringing my own background knowledge made it that much more enjoyable for me.

There are some genuinely frightening sequences that makes this story not for everyone. However, if you like to be scared, then The Nightmarys is definitely worth your time.

Mark Miller is the author of The Empyrical Tales fantasy adventure series from Comfort Publishing. Book 1: The Fourth Queen and Book 2: The Lost Queen are available now. Miller has also co-written A Prince in Trenton, Seriously? with Giovanni Gelati as part of Trestle Press's Author's Lab and is headlining the ongoing spiritual introspective series Mark Miller's One. He has a background in motion picture production and elementary education. Please visit www.MillerWords.com and follow his blog at EmpyricalTales.blogspot.com or find him on Facebook at Facebook.com/EmpyricalTales.

The Stone Child Review

Here's a first, I'm reviewing another author's book. Normally, I am working hard to get a reviewer to read my books. Then there's the whole "raising four kids" thing. Rarely do I have time for leisure reading. I literally have a stack of books waiting for me.

So my oldest daughter came home from school (yes, several months ago) carrying a book with the most intriguing cover. It was Dan Poblocki's The Stone Child. She read the thing in two days flat. She said it was the creepiest book she'd ever read and this is coming from an Official Member of the American Chillers Fan Club. After she finished, that cover kept calling to me. Mostly black with a hint of blue light surrounding the statue of a child. She holds out a book, beckoning the reader to peak inside. It wasn't until after I had a few chapters down that I noticed the creatures wrapped around her feet.

This cover pulled me in, much the same as the pendant pulls in the two different authors in the story. For a writer, I am one of the slowest readers you will meet. It took me more like two weeks to finish the book, as opposed to my daughter's two days.

Don't take that the wrong way though. I completely enjoyed The Stone Child. Basic plot: the outsider, Edgar Fennicks, moves to Gatesweed, an unfamiliar world. We get to know Eddie over the first couple chapters as he is set up to be the classic underdog. We get several hints that things are not right in this town and Eddie discovers an unusual book, hand-written in code, by his favorite author, who also happens to have vanished from this very town. The story begins moving once Eddie meets Harris, the son of the quaint, local bookstore owner. Eddie and Harris embark on a quest to unravel the code and hopefully find the missing author. With the help of another outsider, the quirky Maggie, the three junior detectives encounter a menagerie of creative monsters.The Woman in Black is the most effective as her vagaries torment both Eddie and the missing author whether they are awake or falling through a nightmare.

Things that worked for me: The suspense; The monsters; The Lilith mythology; The setting came alive and I could feel Poblocki's passion for the North Eastern countryside, especially when they went to pick apples; And a genuine mystery that the characters and the reader solve together.

Things that didn't work for me: Maggie's extremely simple solution to one of the key elements of the mystery (trying to avoid spoilers); Never knowing Eddie's parents' names - for some reason, this kept me from totally connecting with Eddie. He thought of them as Mom and Dad, but I wanted to see them as adults since I am an adult reader; Being an adult leads to the final thing that didn't work - the font, parts of the story are told from the missing author's hand-written work. While an immersing technique, my eyes are not as sharp as my ten year old daughter and on a few late nights, I had a little trouble with the cursive.

Overall, for being a scary story that bigger kids can read, I say 5-stars. It is a creepy fun read of Good VS Evil and kids VS monsters. To paraphrase Nathaniel Olmstead, "this story has a jolt or two, which is all anyone really needs to remember he's still alive."

Mark Miller is the author of The Empyrical Tales fantasy adventure series from Comfort Publishing. Book 1: The Fourth Queen and Book 2: The Lost Queen are available now.Miller has also co-written A Prince in Trenton, Seriously? with Giovanni Gelati as part of Trestle Press's Author's Lab and will be headlining the upcoming inspirational anthology, Mark Miller's One. He has a background in motion picture production and elementary education. Follow his blog at EmpyricalTales.blogspot.com or find him on Facebook at Facebook.com/EmpyricalTales.

Showcase #1

Recently, I was invited to join the group Writers of the South (USA). It is a small, but enthusiastic group of authors in every type of genre. The group is aimed at supporting and promoting authors in Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Mississippi and Tennessee.

As we grow, we plan to take several opportunities to showcase the varied and talented people in the group. We will hit it hard over the next couple of days, hopefully gaining some new exposure and introducing you to writings you might not have found otherwise. Looking at the group, there is something for everyone, so be sure to check these posts every day.  The plan is to do this again in a few months.

Today, the spotlight shines on John Rose.

John says, "I teach art to 7th and 8th grade students for a day job. My ongoing project is THE MONSTERGRRLS, which takes up most of my other time. I like drawing, writing and making stuff in my Monster Shop, and have my own Atomic Brain named Alfred. I like people, but cannot always eat a whole one all at once."

The MonsterGrrls Book 1: Out From the Shadows - The first book in the MonsterGrrls series! When the new girls at Clearwater High turn out to be MONSTERS, something strange is bound to happen! But Emily and Theo, two lonely social outcasts at Clearwater, soon make friends with Frankie, Bethany, Punkin and Harriet--the MonsterGrrls. When the Grrls are challenged by the spoiled Jessica Hardin-St. James and her Clique to spend a night in a supposedly haunted house, they accept... but something is already there, waiting. And it doesn't like monsterkind...

If you are a fan of the Universal Monsters, or teenage angst, this could be the book for you. It looks fun and imaginative.

Please click on the links above and check it out.