LAST BASTION OF THE LIVING Tops B&N Exploration List of Best Zombie Releases 2012

After SIEGE made an appearance on the B&N Explorations Best Apocalyptic Releases of 2012, I had high hopes that it would also make the Best Zombie Fiction Releases of 2012 list.  THE FIRST DAYS had landed on both lists for 2011, so my fingers were crossed for the final book in the AS THE WORLD DIES trilogy.

To my joy, SIEGE made the Best Zombie Fiction Releases coming in at #6.  After all the agony I went through trimming it down to make it a tight, exciting, terrifying read, it was wonderful to see it on the list among such great writers in the genre such as Z.A. Recht, Jessica Meigs, Mira Grant, etc... All the hard work that went into the novel and the brain damage I joked I suffered in the aftermath was well worth it to see it receive such great kudos.


But what absolutely floored me was that THE LAST BASTION OF THE LIVING sat at the top of the list at #1.

Paul Allen had this to say about the novel, "It’s vividly realized science fiction, visceral zombie fiction, visionary apocalyptic fiction, but, above all else, it’s a heartrending and – shockingly – hopeful romance. You will never read a novel quite like The Last Bastion of the Living. This was easily my favorite zombie read of 2012 – and one of my all-time favorite zombie reads."

That's very high praise for a book that had a long and difficult road to publication. Conceived in a dream, I instantly fell in love with the lead character, Maria. I tried to make the idea into a short story, but the tale grew larger, so I aimed for a novella. It was even accepted by a small press to be included in a novella anthology when I pitched it to the publisher. Yet, the story kept growing. At last I realized it was going to be a full-length novel and the small press offered to publish it, but my instincts told me to hold onto it.

I had hoped to find it a home at Tor, but the premise was deemed too similar to another novel already coming out from the publishing house (FYI this is actually one of the reasons a really good manuscript might be passed over by an editor). I considered submitting it to Permuted Press, but decided to keep it when I realized I needed a solid list of self-published novels bringing in a monthly income so I could maintain my full-time writing status.

THE LAST BASTION OF THE LIVING has gone on to be my biggest indie seller since its initial release in June 2012.  It's my biggest paperback seller, sold thousands of ebook copies and nearly 1,000 audiobooks since  the audio version came out in September 2012.  It's also my best reviewed novel and has been optioned for a possible film. Out of all my indie books, it is the one book I get the most requests for a sequel, though there won't be one since it's a standalone.

To see THE LAST BASTION OF THE LIVING sitting at #1 on this list means the world to me. I'm very blessed to have the AS THE WORLD DIES trilogy published by Tor, but to have my self-pub work rise to the top is another blessing. It's proof that in this brave new world of publishing that anything is possible.

Special thanks to the crew behind the publication of THE LAST BASTION OF THE LIVING

Felicia Sullivan - Editor

Claudia McKinney of Phat Puppy Art - Cover Artist

Ashley of BB Designs - Typography

Kody Boye - Interior Design/formatting

Giselle Cormier - Beta Reader
Military Advisor - Tim Kirk

My Personal Favorite Top Five Films 2012

Every year my husband and I lament the state of the film. We're sick of remakes, big budget-no story movies, and horror movies that just aren't scary. We rarely go to the movies anymore, opting to watch movies on Netflix or picking them up at Redbox.

This year I was pleased that I had more than a handful of movies to consider for my personal Top Five Films. I narrowed them down to five with one Honorable Mention.

The Hobbit

The Hobbit was one of my absolute favorite books when I was growing up. I could never get into the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, but I was all about The Hobbit.  I watched the animated film of The Hobbit over and over again when I was a kid. I just loved it.

Therefore, I was very excited to see The Hobbit on the big screen. I knew Peter Jackson would do a great job after the gloriousness of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. I was not disappointed. To make the experience even more special, we saw it on my birthday at the IMAX in 3D. Amazing!  I cannot wait for the next part!

The Dark Knight Rises

My hubby and I have been huge fans of the Nolan Batman trilogy ever since the first film. We were both very anxious to see the final installment and hoped it would be a fitting end.  We bought tickets to see all three movies back to back and enjoyed marathoning through the films. Watching them all in a row, we could truly enjoy the storytelling of the saga and the attention to detail. They films were almost a seamless narrative, which was very impressive.

I had been nervous about Ann Hathaway being Catwoman, but she did a very good job as Selina Kyle (thus I used her poster for this post.

The Avengers

I am a HUGE Joss Whedon fan. I also love Robert Downey, Jr.  I'm not a big comic book fan, so I wasn't too sure what the Avengers was all about, but I was anxious to see what Joss was going to do. Also, I was thrilled out of my mind when my personal favorite actor to play Bruce Banner/The Hulk was actually picked for the role. I've been saying for years that Mark Ruffalo should play that role.

That being said, I was completely blown away by how much I loved the film. I was giddy when I walked out of the theater and fully satisfied. I'm so happy to hear Joss will be back for the next one!

The Hunger Games

I very much enjoyed The Hunger Games trilogy and was thrilled when I heard it was going to the big screen. Katniss is a very complicated character that is both noble and flawed.  Jennifer did a great job portraying this complexity. I also loved the vulnerability she projected when Katniss volunteered to take her sisters place.

Also, I couldn't imagine how they would portray the slaughter at the cornucopia and was surprised at how effectively it was done. When that little curly headed boy was killed, my heart broke.

Catching Fire can't land in theaters soon enough!

The Woman in Black

Horror movies have been so disappointing of late. I haven't had a really good scare since The Ring. From the first trailer for The Woman in Black I had high hopes that this was the film that would make me jump in my seat. And it did!

Honestly, I was hiding behind my hands a few times. I just loved how effecitvely they did the ghostly appearances and how absolutely malevolent the wraith was.

I admit it. I jumped more than once.

One of my favorite horror films in ages.

Honorable Mention: Wreck-It Ralph

My hubby and I were out on our regular date night and decided to see a film. On a whim we decided to see Wreck-It Ralph.  We were both shocked at how much we enjoyed it. It was funny, entertaining, beautifully animated, wonderfully voice-acted, and just all around a solid film.

We both adored Vanillope and my husband was floored when he found out she was voiced by Sarah Silverman.  He was also happy that Vanillope was a little dark-haired, dark eyed heroine. Though my husband is blond and of Germanic-Irish stock, I have shared with him my own woes at growing up with an olive complexion, dark eyes, and hair with a media that favored blonds with blue eyes. He liked that our nieces could admire a heroine who looked like them. (I'm sure Brave was a big hit with little redheads!)

I heard they're doing a sequel. I can't wait.


Take note that these are my top five out of the films I have seen. I realize I missed quite a few films during their theatrical runs. Please feel free to post your recommendations in the comments.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays

The Best Apocalyptic Fiction Releases of 2012

Guess who made the list? That's right! SIEGE!! I'm so excited. SIEGE was such a tough book to write and revise and I honestly felt like it blew out the circuitry in my brain!  To see it on this list was an amazing feeling!

Check out the entire list at B&N Explorations!

The Best Apocalyptic Fiction Releases of 2012

The Tale of the Vampire Bride Returns to Paperback

At last my personal favorite novel that I've written, THE TALE OF THE VAMPIRE BRIDE, has returned to paperback.

If you've been reading my blog or lurking on my facebook page, you know that I decided to do a complete overhaul of the book from the front cover to the interior. Since ebooks have become my primary seller, I have come to appreciate people who buy actual physical copies. If someone is going to plunk down a good chunk of change for a physical book, I want it to be special.

The cover art was overhauled by the fabulous Claudia Mckinney of Phat Puppy Art. The typography is by Ashley of BB Designs.  The cover model for Glynis is Megan Young and the photographer is Helena Cruz.  I absolutely love the new cover artwork.

The interior was overhauled by Kody Boye and he did a great job. He had to tweak and tweak again because the printer, Createspace, can be a real headache to work with sometimes. Since each book is printed when ordered, there can be slight variations in how the book ends up being cut. Kody had to make sure that all his fancy designs weren't in danger of being sliced off. We had hoped for the book to be out in early October, but that didn't happen. So we kept revising until the book would be perfect for each new copy.

It has a beautiful new title page and each journal entry and letter has a new distinctive look. Also, Kody did a great job making each page just look amazingly beautiful.

As of today, the new paperback is available for purchase at Amazon.com. Other outlets may have the old copies on hand, so be warned. To get the new cover either order from Amazon.com or from my createspace store.

If you're interested in an autographed copy of the novel, please email me directly at rhiannonfrater at gmail.com.