Bewitching Book Tours: Dead Girl by Stavros

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***BOOK TOUR GIVEAWAY DETAILS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE POST***

 

DeadGirlCoverDead Girl: A Romantic Zombie Tale of Revenge
Written by Stavros
Illustrated by Charles Hearn

Genre: Horror/Thriller

Publisher: Crazy Duck Press (CDP)
Date of Publication: August 2011
ISBN: 9780982812198

Number of pages: 266

Book Description:

“…Death was a dream of sleep where the eternally dying dream the sleep of death. The undeniable evidence in the stillness of her being, the stark paleness of her complexion, and the lack of blood pooling from her cuts after climbing through the window whispered dark truths in her ears. Rigor Mortis. There was nothing familiar to Jamie about her skin. Time and time again, she found herself asking what had happened, only to arrive at the hard won conclusion that she, Jamie Lund, wasn’t alive anymore. Somehow in the foolhardy night, she’d been a dumb girl. She’d gotten herself killed…”

From the mind of Stavros, the critically acclaimed author of Blood Junky, comes a new twisted tale of horror and adventure. An average girl, living in the city is murdered. Nothing new, right? It happens every day. Just another statistic. That is…until she woke up dead.

Trapped within her own decaying shell, the dead girl struggles to piece together the awful events of her untimely death and hunt down the man responsible. Armed only with a kiss from an ancient Egyptian God, a pockmarked memory, her ex-boyfriend, and a murder of crows Jamie Lund comes face to face with something more terrifying and real than mere death…she suffers the agony of being undead!

With twelve black & white illustrations and a full colored cover from tattoo artist, Charles Hearn, this sardonic tale comes alive like no other zombie story, popping from the page with stunning, unnatural brilliance. Dead Girl: A Romantic Zombie Tale of Revenge will keep the reader on the edge of their seat suspended in this unique supernatural thriller.

Sounds super cool, right? Let’s get to know a little more about the author, Stavros.

Interview:

  1. When did you first begin writing, and what inspired you to write your first book?
    • I wrote my first poem when I was in seventh grade. And it’s been downhill ever since. As writing became more and more of a thing in my life – song lyrics, short stories, short scripts, etc – I dreamed that dream of “The Novel” that seems lure young men to the siren shores of pencil pushing. Even tried to write my first one before I was twenty, though I failed miserably at it. I still have it in a filing cabinet with a pencil sketch cover.
  2. What books and authors have most influenced your life?
    • Kurt Vonnegut – Slaughterhouse 5, Oscar Wilde – The Portrait of Dorian Gray, Federico Garcia Lorca – Everything! , Pablo Neruda – Everything! , Sylvia Plath – Her poetry, Frank Herbert – The Dune Series, especially God Emperor of Dune, Isaac Asimov – The Foundation Series, Patrick Suskind – Perfume, Frank Zappa – Real Frank Zappa Book, The poetry of Rumi and Hafiz; and just straight books – The Destroyer Series, The Human Zoo & The Tao of Physics all had major influences
  3. Tell us a little about Jamie Lund. What is she like before she wakes up dead? What sets her on her revengeful quest?
    • I tend to think of Jamie as a normal, modern gal. She liked Lady Gaga, shoes, shopping for expensive things – was a cheerleader; worked in an office building, climbed the social ladder, and had a circle of friends who would hold her hair when she drank too much. I even imagined that she had a faux rhinestone cell phone protector, though I never mentioned it. What sets her on the path of revenge is coming to the drastic realization that she’s dead, yet alive. She only vaguely remembers being murdered. So, in grieving for the loss of her own life she tends to hit the anger button a couple extra times.
  4. Faced with a world infested with flesh-eating biters, what would be your go-to method of defense and why?
    • Katana. No reloading. And leather Biker boots, pants, and jacket (and sometimes the helmet) because it’s too tough to chew through!
  5. In this ever-changing world, it behooves us to be prepared for disaster to happen at any moment. The Zombie Survival Crew members have a “go-bag” filled with items essential for their survival should disaster strike and they must flee to survive. What are the most essential items for your go-bag and why?
    • Besides grabbing the afford-mentioned Katana and a long rifle for clearing paths at a distance, in a backpack is: 1 pair of clothing, extra socks, water bottle filled with water, Swiss army knife, hunting knife, 9mm and 12 clips, assorted MREs, a med kit with antibiotics, duct tape, bottle of Motrin, rope, flint, chlorine tablets for water purification, and a small plastic tarp. Everything else can be foraged.
  6. How did you come up with the premise for Dead Girl? And what do you feel makes your book stand out in the zombie lit world?
    • It originally came to me as a comic book. And Jamie was going to be more of a sword-totting vengeful decayer taking on the mob. But that all changed once I started writing it. What makes Dead Girl different from traditional zombie fair is that she is the only zombie in the story and is basically, for the most part, cognitive. Dead Girl is more of a murder mystery that is solved by the victim before she decays. I love zombie tales, and have a traditional type of story that I am working on called, The Cure. So I felt free to take DG in a completely different direction. Also, at the time that I was writing it and publishing, zombies weren’t as big as they are now, and the idea of making it “Romantic” had not even ventured into the apocalypse. Basically, I just wanted to play in uncharted territory
  7. Is there anything you find particularly challenging in writing for a horror audience?
    • Oh God, Yes. Horror fans have seen it all, read it all, or are thinking about it in a way that I never will. When I actually think about the amount of horror that is out there I get weak in the knees. Just contemplating that I’m going to throw my meager attempts into the fray is foolhardy. Which is part of the reason why I’m so damn anal in my research and development. That coupled with my drive to push the envelope to create something unique for the reader to experience gives me the illusion that I can hang with the big boys and girls.
  8. What made you decide to team up with a tattoo artist to do the illustrations?
    • I had met Charles at my first horror convention in Gettysburg, PA when I released Blood Junky, back in 2010. He had always wanted to do comic books and his panels were amazing. We stayed in touch after the event and as DG took shape I contacted him. He was interested and we made it happen.
  9. Tell us a little bit about your music. What types of music do your write? What instruments do you play? What drives your musical passion?
    • I play drums – kit and afro-cuban styled percussion, guitar, bass, and been known to sing. Mostly, I’ve been working on electronica, due to a heavy road life, though I’ve been writing some new songs on the acoustic. Honestly, music has had to take a backseat to publishing and getting Kaos Kustom Fangs off the ground. But I still tinker and play to relax. I even have a few hardcore acoustic pieces that I want to record with bass and drums to scream or whisper political poetry over. I think the juxtaposition will be hilarious.
  10. What are you working on now? Can you tell us your latest news?
    • I’m working with Sweet Revolt to get the adaptation of my novel Love in Vein funded as a feature film, as well as, penning book three of the One Blood Series. In addition to that, Charles and I are working out the details to bring DG to life as a fully fledged comic book and motion comic.
  11. Is there anything you would like to say to your readers?
    • Yes. Buy the book. You won’t be disappointed. And if you are…it makes for great target practice! After all, gotta keep your aim sharp and there’s a zombie on the cover.

About the Author:

StavrosNotorious Poet. Fool. Born in Washington DC. Stavros was a writer and editor for The Independent Underground Magazine. Raised in Southern Maryland, he fled the Chesapeake Bay to the wilds of the New Mexican desert. He is a single father of two, whose poetic works have been published in several online and print publications, including Central Avenue, The Sword That Cuts Through Stone, Poets Against The War, Conceptions Southwest, The Mynd, Imagine: Creative Arts Journal, and Bartleby, where he won a specialty award for his poem, Blackbird.

In 1999, he won an Official Selection into the Writer’s on the Edge Festival for his play, The Redline. In 2001, he created the Poetry Television Project for public cable access in Albuquerque, NM. All eight volumes of Ptv’s ground-breaking show were broadcast to over 100,000 viewers on a network of regional PAC channels throughout the Southwest and Baltimore. He helped to launch Unpublished Magazine, sponsored the monthly poetry series, The Word Café, in the Duke city, and produced a political compilation, Poetic Democracy. In 2007, he released the award-winning documentary film, Committing Poetry in Times of War.

In 2010, he launched the production management company, Organic Ghetto, and released its first imprint, Crazy Duck Press, with his first novel, Blood Junky. Blood Junky received exceptional praise and review, even being called “one of the best vampire novels ever written,” by Living Dead Media. The following year he helped to launch BioGamer Girl, undertook a bigger East coast tour where he began selling his original photographic art, and released two new novels through Crazy Duck Press. Dead Girl: A Romantic Zombie Tale of Revenge features a stunning full-color cover and twelve black and white illustrations from tattoo artist, Charles Hearn. Blood Junky’s sequel, Love in Vein, cemented the One Blood series with its continuation of the story, garnering such review as to claim that the book and the series is “comparable with, and at times surpasses, the ‘Vampire Chronicles’ by Anne Rice.”

In 2012, Stavros joined forces with the Vampire Professor, Bertena Varney, M.A.M.Ed, to co-create the nonfiction annual anthology, Vampire News, and officially became a Fangsmith with the creation of Organic Ghetto’s second imprint, Kaos Kustom Fangs. He rounded out the year by writing and editing screenplays for the One Blood Transmedia Project, recording Dead Girl as an audio book, and undertaking his biggest national marketing campaign, The Book & Fang Tour.

In 2013, he and the Vampire Professor released the second volume of Vampire News: The (not so) End Times Edition and is currently working on writing and growing his imprints. Stavros is also a musician who has scored commercials, film shorts, documentaries, and television programs.

Stavros:

Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Kaos Kustom Fangs

Dead Girl / Crazy Duck Press:

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Bewitching Book Tours: Corpse Days by Jonathon Kane

The Zombie Survival Crew welcomes Jonathon Kane and a peek at his debut novel, Corpse Days

Corpse Days
Jonathon Kane

Genre: Horror
Cover Artist: Steven Novak

Number of pages: 169
Word Count: Approx. 53,000

Book Description:

Is this the end of the world? Is the Rapture upon us? Has a Zombie Apocalypse arrived? That’s a matter of opinion, but it doesn’t hurt to be a licensed Shooter in these uncertain times.

Meet Stan Norton – a middle-aged Shooter with a haunting past. He wants little to do with the living dead and less to do with the living, until that is, a mysterious young woman with an affinity for guns and martial arts enters his life. An adventure begins and the hunt is on for a reclusive enemy, as the clock ticks down toward a full-blown resurgence of the Corpse Days.

The Zombie Survival Crew had a chance to catch up with Jonathon on his tour and ask him a few questions.

  1. ZSC: When did you first begin writing, and what inspired you to write your first book?
    Jonathon Kane: I began writing in high school. However, Corpse Days was my first book. I was inspired a little by The Walking Dead. I say ‘a little’ because I’ve honestly only watched an episode or two. I liked what I saw, but never had the time to get into it. I have to list the original Night of the Living Dead as an inspiration as well.

  2. ZSC: What books and authors have most influenced your life?
    Jonathon Kane: Ender’s Game – Orson Scott Card. I’ve never read a book faster. It got me excited about writing again after taking a long time off.

  3. ZSC: Tell us a little about your main character, Heather Brewer. Is she based on any real-life person, or entirely from your imagination?
    Jonathon Kane: (Heather Storm) In general, Heather is entirely made up. I’ve known some strong-willed women in my life, but I didn’t pull anything specific from them.

  4. ZSC: Faced with a world infested with flesh-eating biters, what would be your go-to method of defense and why?
    Jonathon Kane: I’d probably go with a Samurai sword. You could keep a good, safe distance with a gun, but you’d constantly have to worry about running out of ammo.

  5. ZSC: In this ever-changing world, it behooves us to be prepared for disaster to happen at any moment. The Zombie Survival Crew members have a “go-bag” filled with items essential for their survival should disaster strike and they must flee to survive. What are the most essential items for your go-bag and why?
    Jonathon Kane: Water, multi-tool, hunting knife, warm clothes for when the temperature drops at night, and a bag of Apple Jacks to munch on.

  6. ZSC: What are the major differences between Heather and Stan’s survival tactics? Which do you feel are the most successful and why?
    Jonathon Kane: Stan is kind of a loner. Part of his survival strategy is to not be brought down by other people’s mistakes. Heather, on the other hand, is a people person. She finds use in those around her and tries to bring out the best in people. I feel like Heather has an advantage. When faced with a horde of hungry brain-eaters, you don’t want to find yourself alone.

  7. ZSC: Is there anything you find particularly challenging in writing for a horror audience?
    Jonathon Kane: I love the horror genre and I think it can be fun. The challenge was writing something that was fun in that weird, sick, messed up kind of way. I hope I’ve achieved that.

  8. ZSC: Since Corpse Days is your debut novel, and men writing female main characters is not as common as females writing male main characters, we’d be interested to hear how it was developing a female main character. What were the biggest challenges for you?
    Jonathon Kane: If Heather had been a girly-girl, I couldn’t have done it. I wouldn’t have done it. The fact that she’s a tough chick is what made it workable for me. Of course, she has feelings and emotions, but so do male characters.

  9. ZSC: What are you working on now? Can you tell us your latest news?
    Jonathon Kane: Right now, I’m working on a collaboration project with another person. It’s going to fall in the horror genre, but it’s not about zombies. Don’t worry, it’s not about werewolves or vampires either. Hopefully, it will be completed in six to eight months.

  10. ZSC: Is there anything you would like to say to your readers?
    Jonathon Kane: Thank you for taking the time to read this. Keep the horde at bay.

About the Author:

Corpse Days is Jonathon Kane’s debut novel. A zombie story was a natural fit for him, as he loves all things Halloween. He felt he could bring human emotions other than just fear into this corner of the horror genre. In high school, he began writing short stories. However, only when Heather Storm came along—the main character of Corpse Days —did he realize a novel was possible. Jonathon has recently finished the sequel to Corpse Days, titled The Calm Before.

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