A Quick Update - SIEGE Revision, New Book Release, New Artwork

I haven't been blogging a lot lately due to being neck deep in revisions for SIEGE: AS THE WORLD DIES for Tor and preparing two other books for publication and supervising the creation of a new cover for THE TALE OF THE VAMPIRE BRIDE.

So here is a quickie update on what is going on.

SIEGE Revision
I'm being rather heartless with the revision.  When Tor bought the AS THE WORLD DIES trilogy, I knew right away that SIEGE was going to have to be chopped down.  When the editor's letter said 60,000 must go, I was like, "Well, here we go."

I've had to step back from the story and look at it critically.  Originally, it was written as an online serial.  I was posting on a fairly regular basis for a long time, but then had a rough patch in my life where it was sometimes very hard to get up the urge to write.  On those days, I would post a scene that wasn't going to be very taxing on me emotionally (it was a time of great loss in my life), so these scenes were usually sidesteps out of the main story.  I'm now looking at those scenes with my red pen poised as I wrestle the online serial into an actual novel. I have already slashed about four of these type of scenes and the story has not lost anything at all.

One scene I slashed in half, because I realized the back story that is told in the scene would make a killer short story.  So slice out half a scene, gain a full short story.

Another scene met the red pen of death because it was very similar to another scene. Same two characters, same topic of conversation.  Slash, gone.

Another scene was kind of fun for world building, but I realized a sentence or two somewhere else would give the reader the exact same information.  Slash, gone.

I'm making good headway, but it's slow going.  I have rewritten a few sections and sometimes I linger over sections as I decide what should stay and what should go.

Meanwhile, SIEGE has made its appearance in the TOR catalog for Winter 2012.  It features the original cover of the book that was later dropped for the new cover with Jenni and Katie.

Final concept for Siege Cover

Original concept for SIEGE cover

I am very happy that my editor and I both agreed that the cover had lost some power by not having Jenni and Katie. The original cover was a good zombie cover, but it did not feel like an AS THE WORLD DIES cover.  I really love the final version.

You can now pre-order SIEGE at Amazon.com.

AS THE WORLD DIES UNTOLD TALES VOLUME 1 Release

I am so pleased that this book is finally out!  I had planned to release it two years ago, but the series was purchased by Tor.  It took a bit of time to finally get the okay to release the short stories I had written to promote the original trilogy.

One of the stories, Vacation of the Undead (Eric's Story), is a work I wrote right before the release of the self published version of THE FIRST DAYS and posted it on Scribd.  It had a very positive response and many fans asked me to release it in paperback.  Though Vacation of the Undead is a long story, it is novella length at around 40,000 words, I felt it was too short to put out as a novel.  To give the fans of the series more bang for their buck, I decided to add two more short stories to round out the book.

I'm so pleased that it is finally out and selling well.

You can order it for most ebook formats here.
You can order the Kindle version here.
You can order the paperback version at my online store (where I get a better royalty).  I has yet to be listed at other online retailers, but should be within two weeks. Disregard the estimated shipping dates. Those are greatly exaggerated.

New Cover for THE TALE OF THE VAMPIRE BRIDE

Original artwork by Detra

The first cover of the TALE OF THE VAMPIRE BRIDE was created by Detra.  I had loved the work he had done on the original AS THE WORLD DIES books and since he's Goth like me, I thought he'd do a great job with the cover of my gothic vampire novel.

When I first saw the artwork, I loved its rich colors and gothic atmosphere.  It also had Detra's fabulous touch and I just loved it.

But I have learned since publication is that a cover that does not appeal to your potential readership may end up being your bane.

Tonight, these are the numbers for the book on Amazon.com on Kindle.


Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #2,909 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

• #57 in Books > Romance > Vampires
• #70 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Fiction > Genre Fiction > Horror
• #91 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Horror

Not shabby at all, but I've been getting these sorts of comments in the reviews.

5.0 out of 5 stars Cheesy cover art, BUT awesome book!, August 2, 2011

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't let cover throw you off!!!!!!, July 26, 2011

5.0 out of 5 stars Cover threw me off, But very impressed with the Story!!, May 21, 2011

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't judge a book by its cover, March 3, 2011

When I first saw this book I thought that's a really lamo cover so I didn't buy it 

I couldn't ignore that.  If people judge a book by its cover and they don't like the cover, they're not going to buy it.  I realized I had to put away my own feelings about the cover and commission new artwork.

Philip Rogers has been doing an amazing job with the new artwork.  He has taken the elements of the old cover and created a beautiful new scene.  Check out the "rough" of the new artwork.

Work in progress-new cover by Philip Rogers

I'm very happy with the artwork and cannot wait to see the finished product.

THE VENGEANCE OF THE VAMPIRE BRIDE Nears Release Date

The sequel to THE TALE OF THE VAMPIRE BRIDE is with the editor and Philip Rogers will soon be working on the cover artwork.  I have already heard from a few of the test readers and I'm very excited to get their feedback.  I believe we are on schedule for a release in late August or early September.  I will keep you posted.



In closing, I'm hard at work and hope to bring you new stories in the very near future.

Happy News! AS THE WORLD DIES SERIES to be Audio Books!!

It appears that my agent received an offer for the audio book versions of the AS THE WORLD DIES zombie series!  I'm so excited.  A lot of fans have asked me if there was going to be audio book versions they could listen to while traveling for work.  Until now, I wasn't able to give them a solid answer.  Once my agent finishes working out all the details, I should have more information for you.

I'm so excited!

Keep the ATWD zombie virus spreading!

UPDATE:  The deal is confirmed!  All three books will be published by Audible.com!!

Some Quick Thoughts, Updates, and an Exclusive Sneak Peek at The Tale of the Vampire Bride

November has not gone the way I anticipated. I had it all planned out and was ready to dive into writing my new novel. My husband had been informed I would be ignoring him for basically a whole month, I made sure not to make any big plans other than Thanksgiving, and was ready to buckle down in front of my new 27" monitor.

And it all got derailed.

Nothing bad occurred. In fact what is brewing is actually really good. Good for my writing career and good for my readers. I can't speak of it quite yet, but I hope to be able to tell the tale by this weekend. But this new development definitely rearranged my priorities for the month.

Meanwhile, The Tale of the Vampire Bride is on its way to publication. The publisher has mailed me the proof copy and I hope to review it this weekend. I can't wait for it to arrive in the mail and hold it in my hands. This is a very important book to my dark little heart and I can't wait to share it with you. If all goes well, The Library of Horror Press should be releasing it very soon.

Nicole Hadaway was very nice to shine the spotlight on me on her blog's Writer's Wednesday. There is an exclusive sneak peek to The Tale of the Vampire Bride in her article, so if you're curious about the novel, please make sure to check it out.

Check back soon for more interviews that will hopefully give you perspective on your own writing career.

So Much To Write...So Little Time...A Quick Update On Future Projects

This is a quick rundown of what you can expect from me in the near future. I'm hoping to submit to a few more anthologies soon, but I've been really busy with getting The Tale of the Vampire Bride ready for publication.

As this list expands, I will update it.


Novels
The Tale of the Vampire Bride from Library of Horror Press November 2009
Living Dead Boy from Library of the Living Dead Press 2010

Short Stories
"The Two Mothers" Vampology from the Library of Horror Press
"Fleeing" Wolves of War edited by Eric S. Brown from Library of Horror Press
"Vengeance" Ladies of Horror from Library of Horror Press
"A Terrible Moment" Zombology VI-Flash Fiction from Library of the Living Dead Press
"BeHexed" Witchology: Tales from the Cauldron from Library of Horror Press

Editing
The Zombie Wilson Diaries by Timothy Long (Novel) for Library of the Living Dead Press
Witchology: Tales from the Cauldron (anthology) for Library of Horror Press
Wolfology: Tales of the Full Moon (anthology) for Library of Horror Press

I am doing a lot with the Library of Horror and Library of the Living Dead Press at this time, but I hope to submit to a few other anthologies in the near future.

In addition to the books and anthologies I'm already committed to, I will be writing the following in the near future:

Pretty When She Kills (the sequel to Pretty When She Dies)
The Last Bastion of the Living (a new zombie novel set in the future)
Untitled supernatural post-apocalyptic novel

EEK!

I almost feel overwhelmed.

As things develop, I will definitely keep you informed.

Letting Go and Moving On

The last few months feel like a blur. I get almost dizzy when I reflect on all that has happened in such a short period of time. I feel immense satisfaction and happiness that As The World Dies: Siege came out one year to the day of the first book, As The World Dies: The First Days. I am very proud of the trilogy and feel it is one of the greater accomplishments of my life up to this point.


As The World Dies: Siege is doing incredibly well (as you can tell by my previous posts) and has made it as far as #60 on the Amazon.com top 100 Horror Novels list.


Yet, I went through a serious funk after its publication. It was emotionally very difficult to leave behind the characters I had come to love in the course of writing the three books. Closing the door on that world was heart wrenching.


It almost felt like a breakup where you feel you will never love again.


But life does go on and the next story I'm going to write has seduced me. I'm in love with this new world I have to explore, and the cast of characters intrigues me. It is exciting to experience something new, and I'm giddy with anticipation. I miss the As The World Dies universe, but it is time to move on.


So what comes next?


First is the regency era vampire story in the vein (hehe) of the old Hammer Films called The Tales of the Vampire Bride: The Dead Travel Fast. I wrote it before the As The World Dies Trilogy and it is one of my favorite works. It has beautiful, wicked, brutal vampires and plenty of Gothic atmosphere. It has my usual characterization and the blood/gore factor is high, but it also has a sumptuous feel that I really love. I know this is a departure for the zombie fans, so I plan to start posting the novel online before its November 2009 publication so you can get a feel for the story.

Meanwhile, I have two zombie novels (that are not related to each other) in the planning stages and I've already began to write one of them. I think you will really like both of them.

On the promotional front, I was recently interviewed by Eric S. Brown, author of World War of the Dead for Abandoned Towers and you can read the interview here.

Since I love putting Eric on the spot, I interviewed him for my blog. That will be appearing tomorrow. Please check it out. It was fun picking his brain.

Now that things are a little more settled, I hope to update my blog on a regular basis and keep you up to date.

Next week I will be blogging from Horror Realm in Pittsburgh!

Progress!!

A lot has been going on behind the scenes of late. I don't have any definitive updates for you at this time, but when things are a bit more settled (or decided), I'll let you know what's up.

Meanwhile, the book is coming along just fine. I feel that I have found my groove and that the doorway to the ATWD's world is wide open. It's easier to "see, hear, feel" what is going on and what comes next. As I have stated before, this book is the hardest to write in the trilogy. It's pretty grim at times and absolutely brutal at others. I try not to mentally tick down the chapters to certain deaths, but it is hard not to. I'm trying to treasure what last few moments I have writing for particular characters before they are gone.

*sigh*

After the formatting disaster of ATWD: Siege and the gaffs it endured with Createspace (where are my freaking page numbers???), I'm being extra cautious with this book. I already have two editors lined up to work on the novel and I'm excited to work with them. I'll be ordering the artwork soon and I know exactly how I want it to look. It's gonna rawk it, babyeeee!

I'll be announcing the winners of the free ATWD: Fighting Survive contest this week. Dr. Pus has his show on hiatus, so I think I'll post it here first. I'll double check with him first, of course.

Thanks again for all your support and if you enjoyed the books, please review them on Amazon.com, your blogs, etc.

A Quick Note

Yes! I Am ALIVE!!

Last week was somewhat insane. I was not only anticipating my first anniversary on Halloween, but also rushing to get a short story into Dr. Pus' Library of the Living Dead in hopes of being part of the new anthology called Zombology.

Then came the weekend with both Halloween and Day of the Dead squeezed into it and I'm utterly exhausted today.

The good news is that I will be at Fear Fest 3 this weekend, Pretty When She Dies will soon get an official release date, and As The World Dies: Fighting to Survive is coming along nicely. To add to the insanity, I plan to start writing a new novel next week (about one of my vampires). I need to write something new. Something fresh.

I know this is a very short update, but I hope to have one with a little more meat soon.

Please drop me a line if you have any questions about my novels or would like to comment on them.

Thanks again for your support!

A Fresh Update--At Last!

I didn't mean to go so long without updating. It's just been a weird couple of weeks and every time I thought about updating, I would usually be tucked into bed on the verge of sleep.

If you're wondering how often I do update, its basically not set in stone and usually just when I have something to say. I don't want to set an exact date for updates only to come up blank about what to actually write about and end up telling you about how good my chihuahua is at giving me guilt trips (very good!) and boring you silly.

But today I do have a few updates.

Book Signing
The first book signing for As The World Dies: The First Days has been set for September 6, 2008 at Secret Oktober in Austin, Texas. It will start at 4pm and end at 8pm and depending on how many people show up, I may do two readings from the novel. Limited copies of the book will be available for sale at the store, so if you do plan to attend, you may want to order your own copy and bring it with you. I'll update as more information becomes available.

Proof Copy
The proof copy of the novel is in the mail. I'll be reading through it one more time before giving final approval on the novel. I also have some editing notes I will review as I reread the novel and see if I agree with the suggestions. We're down to comma use at this time. So the edits are pretty much done at this time.

Other Stories from As The World Dies
I'm trying to post a new chapter to the anthology story about Ken and Lenore at least once a week. This is because I have other things I need to take care of at this time for the actual book coming out and the rewrite/revision of As The World Dies: Fighting to Survive has moved to the front burner. I hope to have it on sale by late October.

I promise a new chapter on the anthology story will be up either tonight or tomorrow.

August 15th is just around the corner and I'm so excited.

I can't wait until you guys can have your very own copy of the book as your very own.

Overwhelmed

Next week I start a brand new job at the company I have worked for the last four and a half years. My division is shutting down and for awhile it looked like I would be facing the unemployment line. Not the best feeling during this economic downturn (gas and food prices have obliterated our budget) and I was not looking forward to the job hunt. Luckily, my bosses wanted to keep me around and when a position opened up in another division, I was offered the job. I, of course, snapped it up.

It has several advantages to my present situation. The most exciting part is I won't be dealing with a certain State agency on a regular basis anymore. Some of the people there are kind and helpful, but the program I have been working with for the last few years has been completely overhauled and ruined and the wtfuckery has reached epic proportions. The annihilation of the program meant it became impossible to implement which resulted in my division in the company being shut down. When you're a governmental consulting firm, you have to be able to provide your clients with direction to good, solid, helpful programs for their small towns; not programs that will eat up resources and basically blow up in their face.

So I'm moving to a new position and I'm very, very excited.

Of course, this means I'm rushing to finish up my present project and train the person taking over what is left of my duties. Though I loved the 3-day Memorial Weekend and it allowed me to rest up, I have lost one day I could have really used to get my stuff wrapped up.

Yeah, I'm stressing.

I haven't been writing as prolifically because of the crush to get things done at the day job. I have been coming home completely drained and falling into bed to sleep until after midnight, get up, putz around, maybe write a little, then pass out again. My only consolation is that it will be over soon.

My writing is definitely second burner until the end of this week and then I hope to get back on track.